Mushrooms of the Midwest
Michael Kuo, Andrew S. Methven
Language: English
Pages: 440
ISBN: 0252079760
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Fusing general interest in mushrooming with serious scholarship, Mushrooms of the Midwest describes and illustrates over five hundred of the region's mushroom species. From the cold conifer bogs of northern Michigan to the steamy oak forests of Missouri, the book offers a broad cross-section of the fungi, edible and not, that can be found growing in the Midwest’s diverse ecosystems.
With hundreds of color illustrations, Mushrooms of the Midwest is ideal for amateur and expert mushroomers alike. Michael Kuo and Andrew Methven provide identification keys and thorough descriptions. The authors discuss the DNA revolution in mycology and its consequences for classification and identification, as well as the need for well-documented contemporary collections of mushrooms.
Unlike most field guides, Mushrooms of the Midwest includes an extensive introduction to the use of a microscope in mushroom identification. In addition, Kuo and Methven give recommendations for scientific mushroom collecting, with special focus on ecological data and guidelines for preserving specimens. Lists of amateur mycological associations and herbaria of the Midwest are also included. A must-have for all mushroom enthusiasts!
completely as above.......................................................................................................... 8 8) Margin of fresh cap turning yellow when rubbed; cap 6–20 cm across.................................... 9 8) Margin of fresh cap not bruising yellow; cap size varying........................................................ 10 9) Flesh in stem base bright yellow; odor unpleasant and phenolic (crush the stem base)...............
p. 148 42) Fuzzy mat of orange mycelium absent; cap varying................................................................ 43 43) Cap egg-shaped when young, expanding to bell-shaped, with large and conspicuous whitish to tan scales; usually growing from wood above the ground................ Coprinopsis variegata, p. 150 43) Cap not as above; usually growing from wood on the ground or near the bases of stumps..... 44 44) Young cap densely hairy and gray; mature cap 1–4 cm across,
Documenting, and Preserving Mushrooms Determining Taste The taste of a mushroom is also sometimes important—but in this case a healthy dose of caution is in order, since there are some deadly poisonous mushrooms out there. One swallowed bite of Amanita bi sporigera (p. 89) could contain enough poison to kill you. Do not taste any mushroom you suspect could potentially be poisonous (for example, an Amanita or a little brown mushroom). To determine taste, tear off a very small piece of the
with a translucent outer layer and a red inner layer; later appearing like a bald or dusted, pinkish to red balloon with a central pore, raised on a shaggy reddish to reddish-brown stem that is surrounded by the deciduous, gelatinous material (often containing reddish chunks); finally appearing like a pinkish to reddish, perforated balloon about 2 cm across, atop a shaggy or even coarsely reticulate stem that is 2–4 cm long and 1–2 cm thick; spore mass within the ball white, becoming buff or
and fall; widely distributed. Fruiting Body: 2–10 cm high; individual elements usually sharing a common base, branching occasionally, 2–6 mm wide; surface purple to pinkish purple, fading somewhat; tips rounded or irregular; base whitish. Flesh: Brittle; purplish; thin. Odor and Taste: Not distinctive, or mildly radish-like. Spore Print: White. Chemical Reactions: Iron salts negative on all surfaces. Microscopic Features: Spores 4–7 × 3–5.5 µm; ellipsoid; smooth; with an apiculus; inamyloid.