SayN Posted April 15, 2009 My wife bought me "A Field Companion To Australian Fungi" by Bruce Fuhrer several years ago and whilst its a great addition to the library, it seems to only scratch the surface. Are there any other publications that are worth pursuing? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
genki Posted April 16, 2009 book list check out some of the titles on this list, apparently book by Young is supposed to be good Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neoshaman Posted April 16, 2009 http://www.erowid.org/library/books_online...ooms_aunz.shtml I always find the online texts of erowid quite informative particularly this one on Australian and NZ Shrooms Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Genesis Posted April 16, 2009 My wife bought me "A Field Companion To Australian Fungi" by Bruce Fuhrer several years ago and whilst its a great addition to the library, it seems to only scratch the surface.Are there any other publications that are worth pursuing? I have been looking for a similar book for quite a while. I can't help out, just wanted to say I like your avatar, lol. Porco Rosso is killer. I few years back when I was stationed in Scotland I scored a book detailing every British fungus, now it has no use to me what being back in good old Oz. All the good mushrooms were classed as POISONOUS CONTAINS PSYCHOACTIVES, lol. Had to laugh... Gen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Birdman Posted April 16, 2009 The book in question is always in my pocket when on the hunt. fantastic pics,great for the dunny.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SayN Posted April 16, 2009 thanks everyone... I followed the trail of the genki's book list which led me to this: http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/fungimap_/bookshop_titles Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paradox Posted April 23, 2009 My wife bought me "A Field Companion To Australian Fungi" by Bruce Fuhrer several years ago and whilst its a great addition to the library, it seems to only scratch the surface. yeah, mycological study in Australia is extremely limited. i don't know exactly how many professional mycologists there are studying in Australia but there aren't many. it seems like some of the best books on fungi in Australia (like the one by Bruce Fuhrer) are written by amateurs anyway. i find it strange there aren't more people interested in studying mycology. fungi are so interesting & there is a universe of discovery still to be made. i considered it for a while but my aversion to rigorous scientific method (laziness) turned me off doing a science degree. i feel much more at home in the arts, which is why i like Bruce Fuhrers book. the photography is awesome! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MORG Posted April 23, 2009 i find it strange there aren't more people interested in studying mycology. There'd be more research done if it were easier to attract funding for curiosity-driven research into our biodiversity. Most mycologists work on yeast, pathogens or agricultural mychorrizzal symbionts so the amount of fungal species that get researched are limited to the tiny few with current recognised economic importance. There's probably more work going on in countries like America where research funding is splashed around with a lot more generosity than here in Oz. I think Fuhrer's latest book is the current benchmark in field guides. The Melbourne BG Fungimap is good but by necessity very limited in its scope. The only fungi guide to include distribution maps though. I would recommend buying every fungi field guide you can and using them in conjunction! I just picked up another one today from a second-hand seller. That's my fourth. You can't have too many field guides! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paradox Posted April 23, 2009 There'd be more research done if it were easier to attract funding for curiosity-driven research into our biodiversity. Most mycologists work on yeast, pathogens or agricultural mychorrizzal symbionts so the amount of fungal species that get researched are limited to the tiny few with current recognised economic importance.There's probably more work going on in countries like America where research funding is splashed around with a lot more generosity than here in Oz. I think Fuhrer's latest book is the current benchmark in field guides. The Melbourne BG Fungimap is good but by necessity very limited in its scope. The only fungi guide to include distribution maps though. I would recommend buying every fungi field guide you can and using them in conjunction! yeah really good points morg. it's a pity, you only have to look at the work of Stammets to realize how many discoveries of 'economic importance' there are to be made if more funding were put into research. i don't pretend to know how the politics involved in obtaining grants for this kind of research works but perhaps the work of satmmets would be a good reference point for scientists looking for funding. if only the interest were there in the world of Australian mycology. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
t st tantra Posted April 23, 2009 (edited) i think at least part of the issue is there are just too many fungii for one book and if they were all included with pics of bruces quality it would be much more expensive and not a handy field guide. bruce seems to have found a reasonable balance in a nicely presented book.got my autographed copy! biased,yeh,i heard bruce talk at ega and he was quite inspirational when talking about his own experiences. he said something like ,even after 30years of studying fungii, many times when he goes bush walking he will find 3 or 4 unrecorded new fungii......so no book will ever do it all! t s t . Edited April 23, 2009 by t st tantra Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
