cycle Posted August 2, 2009 I have Bruce Fuhrer's big book. It's great for IDing species (if the pics match ) but there's no info on munchability. I found this book: "Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms of the World" by Hall et al. online. Anyone use it or have advice for identifying edibles in south eastern Aus? I tried UTSE but it didn't work out too well... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lofty86 Posted August 2, 2009 The few books on the subject ive come across usually label shrooms that contain psilocybin and muscimol as poisoness and inedible the books did not state the chemical consistuents of shrooms just that they were poisoness and should not be consumed there are some good links off EROWID about edible mushroom species of australia and new zealand i think you can find the link off there Psilocybin page happy hunting dude Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted August 2, 2009 (edited) Easily the best ID book in my collection: Mushrooms by Roger Phillips. Spectacular photographs, so many species and such much info to draw on. Without a doubt my mushroom bible. The only note I have is that it has almost no info on the active species, however it makes up for it with info on edibles, poisonous ones and those somewhere in between. A must read Edit: I have to add - it is modern, quite chunky (not like all those pissy handbooks that barely delve above the surface of the fungal world), full of awesome photos, it indicates sizes (such as photos that are a certain % of actual size), covers many Aussie species (mostly those introduced) and it is easy enough to read for someone new to mushrooms and comprehensive enough for those who are struggling to find a better book on the subject. Five stars. Edited August 2, 2009 by Ace Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mutant Posted August 2, 2009 (edited) Well I am sure Australian fungi flora have a certain isolation so I would consider quite essential for an ozzie picker to get some ozzie mushrooms books, I dunno which ones are the good ones though. This having being said, The book Ace mentions is a must have, especially as there is a brand new 2006 major update, 25 years after this book remained unchanged and being considered the top mushroom ID book since the 80s when it was first released. It's got great detailed info, great photos and many many species. The author, and it's somewhat natural, is english so he is somewhat england-habitat oriented, but certainly includes almost every european species I have needed and searched, but not particularly for mediterranean species, f.e. Another good but very limited and insufficient option would be some of the beginers 'edible foolproof guides' , which contain the basic edibles and basic poisonous... That option is not bad for a beginer, but like I said, I don't consider sufficient... The best bet and my suggestion is you get 2 or 3 books to begin... The best assumptions come from combining different sources Edited August 2, 2009 by mutant Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gecko Posted August 2, 2009 I have to agree , Phillips is a great work, informative and photos often showing different stages of development of a given species and sometimes variation within species. I'd be interested to see how its been updated and whats changed taxonomically etc. There is also this http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/ It pays to get as much info as possible ie. different books- more photos etc. Check out your local libraries. Some mushrooms are listed in some books as being edible while in other books they're not. eg. Paxillus involutus ('naturalized' in Aust. with introduced trees) some older books will say they're safe , but more modern books say no. So keep that in mind. This book is sometimes available in remainder book stores for about $14. my brother got me a copy last week ,but I already have a copy. European emphasis. http://www.amazon.ca/Great-Encyclopedia-Mu...c/dp/3829017286 This one isnt too bad, also published in UK, but i counted at least 15 edible species that I know occur in Aust. http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Science/N...ushroom+hunting and there's always David Arora's books, 'Mushrooms demystified' and 'All the rain promises, and more...' I've just bought a copy of Michael Kuo's (creator of http://www.mushroomexpert.com/ ) new book '100 edible mushrooms-with tested recipes' Just started reading it... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mutant Posted August 3, 2009 I've just bought a copy of Michael Kuo's (creator of http://www.mushroomexpert.com/ )new book '100 edible mushrooms-with tested recipes' Just started reading it.. hm he seems like a fun guy . let us know if it's at all good. I am interested in new recipees with mushrooms. I have always loads of them.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
