1100 Best Mushroom Books of All Time
We've ranked the best mushroom books using expert recommendations, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. At Shortform, we know books. Our book guides are the best in the world. Learn why.
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2All That the Rain Promises and More: A Hip Pocket Guide to Western Mushrooms
3Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World
The basic science goes like this: Microscopic cells called “mycelium”--the fruit of which are mushrooms--recycle carbon, nitrogen, and other essential elements as they break down plant and animal debris in the creation of rich new soil. What Stamets has discovered is that we can capitalize on mycelium’s digestive power and target it to decompose toxic wastes and pollutants (mycoremediation), catch and reduce silt from streambeds and pathogens from agricultural watersheds (mycofiltration), control insect populations (mycopesticides), and generally enhance the health of our forests and gardens (mycoforestry and myco-gardening).
In this comprehensive guide, you’ll find chapters detailing each of these four exciting branches of what Stamets has coined “mycorestoration,” as well as chapters on the medicinal and nutritional properties of mushrooms, inoculation methods, log and stump culture, and species selection for various environmental purposes. Heavily referenced and beautifully illustrated, this book is destined to be a classic reference for bemushroomed generations to come.
4How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence
When LSD was first discovered in the 1940s, it seemed to researchers, scientists and doctors as if the world might be on the cusp of psychological revolution. It promised to shed light on the deep mysteries of consciousness, as well as offer relief to addicts and the mentally ill. But in the 1960s, with the vicious backlash against the counter-culture, all further research was banned. In recent years, however, work has quietly begun again on the amazing potential of LSD, psilocybin and DMT. Could these drugs in fact improve the lives of many people? Diving deep into this extraordinary world and putting himself forward as a guinea-pig, Michael Pollan has written a remarkable history of psychedelics and a compelling portrait of the new generation of scientists fascinated by the implications of these drugs. How to Change Your Mind is a report from what could very well be the future of human consciousness.
Author
Michael Pollan masterfully guides us through the highs, lows, and highs again of psychedelic drugs. How to Change Your mind chronicles how it’s been a longer and stranger trip than most any of us knew. [source]
Historian
Changed my mind, or at least some of the ideas held in my mind. [source]
Michael Pollan assembles a great deal of information here on the history, science, and effects of psychedelics. I found his frank recounting of his recent experiences with LSD, psilocybin, and toad venom most revealing. They appear to have softened his materialistic views and opened him to the possibilities of higher consciousness. He did, indeed, change his mind. [source]
5Mushrooms Demystified
6The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms
7Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World: An Identification Guide
8The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
The Omnivore's Dilemma is a groundbreaking book in which one of America's most fascinating, original, and elegant writers turns his own omnivorous mind to the seemingly straightforward question of what we should have for dinner. The question has confronted us since man discovered fire, but, according to Michael Pollan, the bestselling author of The Botany of Desire, how we answer it today, ath the dawn of the twenty-first century, may well determine our very survival as a species. Should we eat a fast-food hamburger? Something organic> Or perhaps something we hunt, gather or grow ourselves?
To find out, Pollan follows each of the food chains that sustain us--industrial food, organic or alternative food, and food we forage ourselves--from the source to a final meal, and in the process develops a definitive account of the American way of eating. His absorbing narrative takes us from Iowa cornfields to food laboratories, from feedlots and fast-food restaurants to organic farms and hunting grounds, always emphasizing our dynamic coevolutionary relationship with the handful of plant and animal species we depend on. Each time Pollan sits down to a meal, he deploys his unique blend of personal and investigative journalism to trace the origins of everything consumed, revealing what we unwittingly ingest and explaining how our taste for particular foods and flavors reflects our evolutionary inheritance.
The surprising answers Pollan offers to the simple question posed by this book have profound political, economic, psychological, and even mortal implications for all of us. Ultimately, this is a book as much about visionary solutions as it is about problems, and Pollan contends that, when it comes to food, doing the right thing often turns out to be the tastiest thing an eater can do. Beautifully written and thrillingly argued, The Omnivore's Dilemma promises to change the way we think about the politics and pleasure of eating. For anyone who reads it, dinner will never again look, or taste, quite the same.
--jacket
Michael Pollan looks at food production through four meals. One is a fast-food meal, the other is an industrial-scale organic meal, then there is a small-scale organic meal and finally he actually goes out and either grows or kills, in the case of the meat, the entire meal himself. That is the narrative. [source]
Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" --more precisely, the first 3rd of it-- was what first made me realize how badly the Earth, as an ecosystem, is out of balance. [source]
Michael Pollan is an excellent journalist who specializes in the food domain.He proposes relying more on whole foods and less on processed foods, like Oreo Cookies. He argues that unprocessed foods are more nutritious, more wholistic and better for the environment. [source]
9Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation: Simple to Advanced and Experimental Techniques for Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation
For more than twenty years, mycology expert Tradd Cotter has been pondering these questions and conducting trials in search of the answers. In Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation, Cotter not only offers readers an in-depth exploration of best organic mushroom cultivation practices; he shares the results of his groundbreaking research and offers myriad ways to apply your cultivation skills and further incorporate mushrooms into your life--whether your goal is to help your community clean up industrial pollution or simply to settle down at the end of the day with a cold Reishi-infused homebrew ale.
The book first guides readers through an in-depth exploration of indoor and outdoor cultivation. Covered skills range from integrating wood-chip beds spawned with king stropharia into your garden and building a "trenched raft" of hardwood logs plugged with shiitake spawn to producing oysters indoors on spent coffee grounds in a 4�4 space or on pasteurized sawdust in vertical plastic columns. For those who aspire to the self-sufficiency gained by generating and expanding spawn rather than purchasing it, Cotter offers in-depth coverage of lab techniques, including low-cost alternatives that make use of existing infrastructure and materials.
Cotter also reports his groundbreaking research cultivating morels both indoors and out, "training" mycelium to respond to specific contaminants, and perpetuating spawn on cardboard without the use of electricity. Readers will discover information on making tinctures, powders, and mushroom-infused honey; making an antibacterial mushroom cutting board; and growing mushrooms on your old denim jeans.
Geared toward readers who want to grow mushrooms without the use of pesticides, Cotter takes "organic" one step further by introducing an entirely new way of thinking--one that looks at the potential to grow mushrooms on just about anything, just about anywhere, and by anyone.
The Mushroom Cultivator: A Practical Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home
11The Complete Mushroom Hunter, Revised: Illustrated Guide to Foraging, Harvesting, and Enjoying Wild Mushrooms - Including new sections on growing your own incredible edibles and off-season collecting
This is the only mushrooming book that will introduce you safely and with confidence to the not-so underground hobby of mushroom hunting and gathering. Gathering edible wild food is a lovely way to forge a connection to the earth. Mushrooms are the ultimate local food source; they grow literally everywhere, from mountains and woodlands to urban and suburban parks to your own backyard.
The Complete Mushroom Hunter, Revised is a new edition of Quarry's successful Complete Mushroom Hunter. It will enrich your understanding of the natural world and build an appreciation for an ancient, critically relevant, and useful body of knowledge. Amateur mycologists and mushroom enthusiasts will find this is a guidebook for their passion. Mushroom guru Gary Lincoff escorts you from the mushroom's earliest culinary awakening, through getting equipped for mushroom forays, to preparing and serving the fruits of the foray, wherever you live. Inside you'll find: A brief, but colorful history of mushroom hunting worldwide; how to get equipped for a mushroom foray; a completely illustrated guide to the common wild edible mushrooms and their poisonous look-alikes -- where to find them, how to identify them, and more; how to prepare and serve the fruits of your foray, plus more than 30 delicious recipes; plus, dozens of colorful, priceless anecdotes from living the mushroom lifestyle.
12Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms
cancer-fighting properties, mushrooms are among the most expensive and sought-after foods on the
planet. Yet when it comes to fungi, culinary uses are only the tip of the iceberg. Throughout history fungus has been prized for its diverse properties—medicinal, ecological, even recreational—and has
spawned its own quirky subculture dedicated to exploring the weird biology and celebrating the unique role it plays on earth. In Mycophilia, accomplished food writer and cookbook author Eugenia Bone examines the role of fungi as exotic delicacy, curative, poison, and hallucinogen, and ultimately discovers that a greater understanding of fungi is key to facing many challenges of the 21st century.
Engrossing, surprising, and packed with up-to-date science and cultural exploration, Mycophilia is part narrative and part primer for foodies, science buffs, environmental advocates, and anyone interested in learning a lot about one of the least understood and most curious organisms in nature.
13Mushrooms
A photographic field guide forms the heart of the book, providing information on size, range, and habitat; clear images and illustrations of specimens; and information on what's poisonous and what's edible -- making this the ultimate guide to mushrooms.
14Mushrooming Without Fear: The Beginner's Guide to Collecting Safe and Delicious Mushrooms
Novices eager to collect tasty wild mushrooms will find this unique guide invaluable. Unlike others, it focuses only on those types that are both safe to eat and delicious. Most importantly, it presents the eight rules of mushroom gathering in a straightforward fashion, including, "Never, never take a mushroom with gills" and "If a mushroom smells rotten, it is rotten."
Among the mushrooms covered are the cep; the red-cracked, larch, bay, and birch boletes; hen of the woods, chanterelle, trumpet chanterelle, hedgehog fungus, common puffball, horn of plenty, and cauliflower mushroom.
Each is identified with several photographs and identification checklist, and there's also information on mushroom season, handling, storage, and cooking, complete with recipes.
15Healing Mushrooms: A Practical and Culinary Guide to Using Mushrooms for Whole Body Health
Adaptogenic mushrooms are one of today's buzziest superfoods, known for their ability to restore skin's youthful glow, increase energy levels, reduce brain fog, keep your hormone levels in check, and so much more. In Healing Mushrooms, you'll learn about the ten most powerful mushrooms you can add to your daily diet to maximize your health gains. Though some of these mushrooms, like Tremella, Cordyceps, and Reishi will sound exotic, they're all easy to source online in extract form and easier to use in recipes. Even more familiar mushrooms, like Shiitake, Oyster, and Enoki, are full of seriously healing potential--you just have to know how to use them. Packed with practical information, fun illustrations, and 50 mushroom-boosted recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and even dessert!), Healing Mushrooms unlocks the vast potential of this often-overlooked superfood category and will be the go-to resource for adding mushrooms to your health and wellness regimen.
Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States: A Field-to-Kitchen Guide
Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States also offers practical advice on preparing, storing, drying, and cooking with wild mushrooms, presenting more than two dozen tantalizing mushroom recipes from some of the best restaurants and chefs in Illinois, including one of Food & Wine magazine's top 10 new chefs of 2007. Recipes include classics like Beer Battered Morels, Parasol Mushroom Frittatas, and even the highly improbable (yet delectable) Morel Tiramisu for dessert.
As the first new book about Illinois mushrooms in more than eighty years, this is the guide that mushroom hunters and cooks have been craving.
Visit the book's companion website at www.illinoismushrooms.com.
17The Fungal Pharmacy: The Complete Guide to Medicinal Mushrooms and Lichens of North America
Entries discuss the mushroom or lichen’s medicinal traits and properties, including active chemical components, preparation methods (including extracts, essences, and essential oils), and historical as well as modern-day usage. Two hundred full-color photos and thorough descriptions make identification easy for the reader. Rogers also delves into the cultural, religious, and literary significance of each mushroom, featuring fascinating tidbits about each one’s etymology and history.
18Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares: The Love, Lore, and Mystique of Mushrooms
With tales from around the world, Marley, a seasoned mushroom expert, explains that some cultures are mycophilic (mushroom-loving), like those of Russia and Eastern Europe, while others are intensely mycophobic (mushroom-fearing), including, the US. He shares stories from China, Japan, and Korea-where mushrooms are interwoven into the fabric of daily life as food, medicine, fable, and folklore-and from Slavic countries where whole families leave villages and cities during rainy periods of the late summer and fall and traipse into the forests for mushroom-collecting excursions.
From the famous Amanita phalloides (aka "the Death Cap"), reputed killer of Emperor Claudius in the first century AD, to the beloved chanterelle (cantharellus cibarius) known by at least eighty-nine different common names in almost twenty-five languages, Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares explores the ways that mushrooms have shaped societies all over the globe.
This fascinating and fresh look at mushrooms-their natural history, their uses and abuses, their pleasures and dangers-is a splendid introduction to both fungi themselves and to our human fascination with them. From useful descriptions of the most foolproof edible species to revealing stories about hallucinogenic or poisonous, yet often beautiful, fungi, Marley's long and passionate experience will inform and inspire readers with the stories of these dark and mysterious denizens of our forest floor.
Radical Mycology: A Treatise On Seeing & Working With Fungi
In 2006 Peter McCoy founded Radical Mycology, a grassroots organization dedicated to increasing awareness of the many ways to work with fungi for personal, societal, and ecological health. Nearly a decade later, McCoy has written Radical Mycology to share the wide array of skills and insights that have arisen from the organization’s international work to advance the science of appropriately applied mycology. Shattering commonly held beliefs on the value of the Fungal Queendom, Radical Mycology definitively explores the many reasons that fungi should no longer be ignored but instead honored and embraced for the many gifts they offer. The result is the most comprehensive book on mycology—the science of fungi—ever published.
Interwoven with short essays on the lessons of the fungi, Radial Mycology begins with chapters that explore the uniqueness of fungal biology, the critical ecological roles of micro and macro fungi, how to accurately identify mushrooms and mycorrhizal fungi, the importance of lichens as medicines and indicators of environmental quality, and the profound influences that fungi have held on the evolution of all life and human cultures. With this foundation laid, the reader is then equipped to work with the fungi directly. Techniques for making potent fungal medicines, growing fermenting fungi for food, and cheaply cultivating mushrooms using recycled tools (and yet still achieving lab-quality results) are explored in-depth. Subsequent chapters grow far beyond the limits of other books on mushrooms. Detailed information on the principles and practices of natural mushroom farming—largely influenced by the design system of permaculture—is presented along with extensive information on cultivating mycorrhizal fungi and the science of mycoremediation, the application of fungi to mitigate pollution in the environment and in our homes. The book ends with deeper insights into the social effects that fungi present from the reflection of mycelial networks in the design of whole societies to a rigorous examination of the history of psychoactive fungi.
Written for the beginner as well as the experienced mycologist, Radical Mycology is an invaluable reference book for anyone interested in Do-It-Yourself (or Do-It-Together) homesteading, community organizing, food security, natural medicine, grassroots bioremediation, and the evolution of human-fungal-ecological relations. More than a book on mushrooms, Radical Mycology is a call to ally with the fungi in all efforts to spawn a healthier world. Heavily referenced and vibrantly illustrated by the author, this unprecedented book will undoubtedly remain a classic for generations to come.
The Mushroom Hunters: On the Trail of Secrets, Eccentrics, and the American Dream
Within the dark corners of America’s forests grow culinary treasures. Chefs pay top dollar to showcase these elusive and beguiling ingredients on their menus. Whether dressing up a filet mignon with smoky morels or shaving luxurious white truffles over pasta, the most elegant restaurants across the country now feature an abundance of wild mushrooms.
The mushroom hunters, by contrast, are a rough lot. They live in the wilderness and move with the seasons. Motivated by Gold Rush desires, they haul improbable quantities of fungi from the woods for cash. Langdon Cook embeds himself in this shadowy subculture, reporting from both rural fringes and big-city eateries with the flair of a novelist, uncovering along the way what might be the last gasp of frontier-style capitalism.
Meet Doug, an ex-logger and crabber—now an itinerant mushroom picker trying to pay his bills and stay out of trouble; and Jeremy, a former cook turned wild food entrepreneur, crisscrossing the continent to build a business amid cutthroat competition; their friend Matt, an up-and-coming chef whose kitchen alchemy is turning heads; and the woman who inspires them all.
Rich with the science and lore of edible fungi—from seductive chanterelles to exotic porcini—The Mushroom Hunters is equal parts gonzo travelogue and culinary history lesson, a rollicking, character-driven tour through a world that is by turns secretive, dangerous, and tragically American.
Fantastic Fungi: How Mushrooms Can Heal, Shift Consciousness, and Save the Planet
Contributions from Michael Pollan, Andrew Weil, Eugenia Bone, and many more experts make Fantastic Fungi an awe-inspiring visual journey through the exotic, little-known realm of fungi and its amazing potential to positively influence our lives.
An all-star team of professional and amateur mycologists, artists, foodies, ecologists, doctors, and explorers joined forces with time-lapse master Louie Schwartzberg to create Fantastic Fungi, the life-affirming, mind-bending film about mushrooms and their mysterious interwoven rootlike filaments called mycelium. What this team reveals will blow your mind and possibly save the planet. This visually compelling companion book of the same name, edited by preeminent mycologist Paul Stamets, will expand upon the film in every way through extended transcripts, new essays and interviews, and additional facts about the fantastic realm of fungi.
Fantastic Fungi is at the forefront of a mycological revolution that is quickly going mainstream. In this book, learn about the incredible communication network of mycelium under our feet, which has the proven ability to restore the planet’s ecosystems, repair our health, and resurrect our symbiotic relationship with nature. Fantastic Fungi aspires to educate and inspire the reader in three critical areas: First, the text showcases research that reveals mushrooms as a viable alternative to Western pharmacology. Second, it explores studies pointing to mycelium as a solution to our gravest environmental challenges. And, finally, it details fungi’s marvelous proven ability to shift consciousness.
Motivating both the visually stunning film and this follow-up book is an urgent mission to change human consciousness and restore our planet.
The Mushroom Fan Club
Elise Gravel is back with a whimsical look at one of her family’s most beloved pastimes: mushroom hunting! Combining her love of exploring nature with her talent for anthropomorphizing everything, she takes us on a magical tour of the forest floor and examines a handful of her favorite alien specimens up close. While the beautiful coral mushroom looks like it belongs under the sea, the peculiar Lactarius indigo may be better suited for outer space. From the fun-to-stomp puffballs to the prince of the stinkers—the stinkhorn mushroom—and the musically inclined chanterelles, Gravel shares her knowledge of this fascinating kingdom by bringing each species to life in full felt-tip-marker glory.
The Governor General Award–winning author Gravel’s first book with Drawn & Quarterly, If Found . . . Please Return to Elise Gravel, was a Junior Library Guild selection and an instant hit among librarians, parents, and kids alike. Fostering the same spirit of creativity and curiosity, The Mushroom Fan Club promises to inspire kids to look more closely at the world around them and to seek out all of life’s little treasures, stinky or not!
The Kingdom of Fungi
The fungi realm has been called the hidden kingdom, a mysterious world populated by microscopic spores, gigantic mushrooms and toadstools, and a host of other multicellular organisms ranging widely in color, size, and shape. The Kingdom of Fungi provides an intimate look at the world's astonishing variety of fungi species, from cup fungi and lichens to truffles and tooth fungi, clubs and corals, and jelly fungi and puffballs. This beautifully illustrated book features more than 800 stunning color photographs as well as a concise text that describes the biology and ecology of fungi, fungal morphology, where fungi grow, and human interactions with and uses of fungi.
The Kingdom of Fungi is a feast for the senses, and the ideal reference for naturalists, researchers, and anyone interested in fungi.
Reveals fungal life as never seen before
Features more than 800 stunning color photos
Describes fungal biology, morphology, distribution, and uses
A must-have reference book for naturalists and researchers
Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide: A Handbook for Psilocybin Enthusiasts
25Mushrooms of the Northeast: A Simple Guide to Common Mushrooms
Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fungi of Coastal Northern California
This exhaustive reference helps readers learn to find and identify 750 species of mushrooms common to coastal California. Each entry has a photograph, along with well-researched, up-to-date information on the fungi's description, ecology, and edibility. Written in a clear and concise style, Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast teaches beginning and experienced mushroom hunters how to find, photograph, and identify mushrooms, from common species to hard-to-find standouts. With tips on mushroom hunting, descriptions of specific biozones, and an easy-to-use key for identification, this guide is a much-needed update for a perennially popular category.
Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest
Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest is a compact, beautifully illustrated field guide to 460 of the region's most common mushrooms. In addition to profiles on individual species, it also includes a general discussion and definition of fungi, information on where to find mushrooms and guidelines on collecting them, an overview of fungus ecology, and a discussion on how to avoid mushroom poisoning.
More than 500 superb color photographs
Helpful keys for identification
Clear coded layout
Covers Oregon, Washington, southern British Columbia, Idaho, and western-most Montana
Essential reference for mushroom enthusiasts, hikers, and naturalists
28Mushrooms of the Midwest
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!
29True Hallucinations
Preface
1 The Call of the Secret
2 Into the Devil's Paradise
3 Along a Ghostly Trail
4 Camped by a Doorway
5 A Brush with the Other
6 Kathmandu Interlude
7 A Violet Psychofluid
8 The Opus Clarified
9 A Conversation Over Saucers
10 More on the Opus
11 The Experiment at La Chorrera
12 In the Vortex
13 At Play in the Fields of the Lord
14 Looking Backward
15 A Saucer Full of Secrets
16 Return
17 Waltzing the Enigma
18 Say What Does It Mean?
19 The Coming of the Strophariad
20 The Hawaiian Connection
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Further Reading
This is one of my favourite books. [source]
30Mushrooms of the Southeast
Mushrooms of the Southeast is a compact, beautifully illustrated guide packed with descriptions and photographs of hundreds of the region’s most important mushrooms. In addition to profiles on individual species, the book also includes a general discussion and definition of fungi, information on where to find mushrooms and collection guidelines, an overview of fungus ecology, and information on mushroom poisoning and how to avoid it.
Fully illustrates 330 species and discusses more than 1,000 of the region’s most conspicuous, distinctive, interesting, and ecologically important mushrooms
Covers northern Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia
Helpful keys for identification
Clear, color-coded layout
31Peterson Field Guide To Mushrooms Of North America, Second Edition: The Classic Illustrated Nature Reference for Safe Foraging
A new edition of the classic, bestselling field guide to mushrooms from Peterson Field Guides.Peterson Field Guide To Mushrooms is a portable-sized field guide for mushroom identification―the ultimate, most comprehensive manual for North American mushrooms available.Toadstools, truffles, boletes and morels, witches’ butter, conks, corals, puffballs and earthstars: mushrooms are both mysterious and ecologically essential. They can also be either delicious or deadly. Thousands of different species of mushrooms appear across North America in the woods, backyards, and in unexpected corners. Learning to distinguish them is a rewarding challenge for a naturalist or chef. Covering the most common edible and poisonous species readers are likely to encounter, this portable-sized field guide takes a new, simple approach to the method of mushroom identification based on key features that do not require a microscope or technical vocabulary. In addition to the watercolors from the original edition, hundreds more illustrations have been added.For more than 85 years, Peterson Field Guides have set the standard by which other field guides are measured. Comprehensive and authoritative, they are essential additions to any naturalist's bookshelf or backpack.What makes this the essential field guide for mushroom hunters?Beginner-Friendly Identification: A simple approach based on key features you can see, no microscope or technical vocabulary required.Safe Foraging Guide: Detailed entries and illustrations help you confidently distinguish delicious morels from their dangerous look-alikes.Comprehensive Coverage: Explore the world of toadstools, truffles, boletes, corals, puffballs, and earthstars found across North America.Field-Ready Design: The classic portable size is designed to fit perfectly in your backpack for easy reference on the trail.
32Midnight Magic: A Tarot Deck of Mushrooms
Featuring dark, dreamy illustrations of the beautiful fungi of the forest discover your fortune with Midnight Magic, which reflects the themes and archetypes of the traditional Rider Waite.Welcome to a tarot deck of mushrooms, where you’ll find 78 unique tarot card designs based on the mysterious world of mushrooms. Based on the symbolism of the Rider Waite deck, these cards depict traditional tarot archetypes through images of fungi, from the authoritative, red-capped Fly Agaric as the Emperor to the brightly colored Chicken of the Woods as the impetuous Fool and so much more! These ethereal illustrations were created by Eisner Award–nominated artist and mushroom enthusiast Sara Richard whose art is inspired by the natural world and the trees and mushrooms she was surrounded by while growing up in New Hampshire. This deck is filled with magical artwork reflecting the hidden power, magic, and wonder of the woods. So whether you’re an avid mushroom hunter or you just want to add some earthy magic to your tarot card practice, this deck is for you.
33Go Forth and Forage: A Guide to Foraging Over 50 of the Most Common Edible & Medicinal North American Mushrooms
A Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms: North America
35Scientific American September 2026
Scientific American covers the most important and exciting research, ideas and knowledge in science, health, technology, the environment and society. It is committed to sharing trustworthy knowledge and enhancing our understanding of the world .
The Book of Fungi: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from Around the World
In this lavishly illustrated volume, six hundred fungi from around the globe get their full due. Each species here is reproduced at its actual size, in full color, and is accompanied by a scientific explanation of its distribution, habitat, association, abundance, growth form, spore color, and edibility. Location maps give at-a-glance indications of each species’ known global distribution, and specially commissioned engravings show different fruitbody forms and provide the vital statistics of height and diameter. With information on the characteristics, distinguishing features, and occasionally bizarre habits of these fungi, readers will find in this book the common and the conspicuous, the unfamiliar and the odd. There is a fungal predator, for instance, that hunts its prey with lassos, and several that set traps, including one that entices sows by releasing the pheromones of a wild boar.
Mushrooms, morels, puffballs, toadstools, truffles, chanterelles—fungi from habitats spanning the poles and the tropics, from the highest mountains to our own backyards—are all on display in this definitive work.
Mycomedicinals: An Informational Booklet on Medicinal Mushrooms
38Entangled Life: The Illustrated Edition: How Fungi Make Our Worlds
Merlin Sheldrake’s New York Times bestseller, Entangled Life, is now a lavish visual journey into the hidden lives of fungi.When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave. In the first edition of the mind-bending, “gorgeous” (Margaret Atwood), ”brilliant [and] entrancing” (The Guardian) Entangled Life, Sheldrake introduced us to this mysterious but massively diverse kingdom of life. This new edition, abridged from the original, features over 100 full-color images that bring the spectacular variety, strangeness and beauty of fungi to life as never before. Fungi throw our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They are metabolic masters, earth makers, and key players in most of life’s processes. They can change our minds, heal our bodies, and even help us remediate environmental disaster. In vivid, surprising images, Sheldrake reveals how these extraordinary organisms—and our relationships with them—are changing our understanding of how life works.
Appalachian Mushrooms: A Field Guide
Appalachian Mushrooms is unparalleled in its accuracy and currency, from its detailed photographs to descriptions based on the most advanced classification information available, including recent DNA studies that have upended some mushrooms’ previously accepted taxonomies. Sturgeon celebrates more than 400 species in all their diversity, beauty, and scientific interest, going beyond the expected specimens to include uncommon ones and those that are indigenous to the Appalachian region.
This guide is destined to be an indispensable authority on the subject for everyone from beginning hobbyists to trained experts, throughout Appalachia and beyond.
40How to Forage for Mushrooms without Dying: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Identifying 29 Wild, Edible Mushrooms
41Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms of New England and Eastern Canada
Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms of New England and Eastern Canada also provides useful ideas for cooking mushrooms. Rather than simply providing recipes, the book discusses the cooking characteristics of each variety, with advice about matching species with appropriate foods. Many mushrooms contain unique medicinal components for boosting the immune system to fight cancer, HIV, and other diseases, and Spahr offers practical and prudent guidelines for exploration of this rapidly emerging area of alternative therapeutic practice.
42The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible: The Definitive Guide to Growing and Using Magic Mushrooms
This second edition of the best-selling The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible is the most comprehensive source of information on the market regarding mushroom cultivation, harvesting, and consumption. This book uses detailed, straightforward language and high-resolution color, step-by-step photos to ensure readers can understand and apply everything they need to know about growing mushrooms. The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible will teach readers the efficient, safe, and quick process of cultivating their own magic mushrooms.In 2015, The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible was the first new book on magic mushroom cultivation published since 2006. Since its publication, it has sold over 100,000 copies and has established itself as one of the most accessible, enjoyable, and informative books on the topic, with its authors directly assisting home growers through forums and courses in the years since. This new edition expands and revises the original, with:Brand new photographs“How to” photo essaysNew chapters on both low tech and advanced growing methodsAdditional indoor and outdoor techniques for new species Processes include how to build containers and equipment at home and comprehensive instructions on multiple methods of producing magic mushrooms. This new edition also discusses current research on psilocybin as medicine, the recent decriminalization movements, as well as methods for consuming magic mushrooms, from simply eating them, to making tea or discreet pills, and even turning the mushrooms into delicious treats to be enjoyed with friends.The first edition of The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible was truly ground-breaking and this new edition not only expands on the previous topics with updated research but also provides new, in-depth information and methods that will ensure it continues to be the number one choice for anyone wanting to know as much as they want about psilocybin mushroom cultivation.
43Christopher Hobbs's Medicinal Mushrooms: The Essential Guide: Boost Immunity, Improve Memory, Fight Cancer, Stop Infection, a
The Kingdom Fungi: The Biology of Mushrooms, Molds, and Lichens
The Kingdom Fungi provides a comprehensive look at the biology, structure, and morphological diversity of these necessary organisms. It sheds light on their ecologically important roles in nature, their fascinating relationships with people, plants, and animals, and their practical applications in the manufacture of food, beverages, and pharmaceuticals. The book includes information about “true” fungi, fungus-like creatures (slime molds and water molds), and a group of “composite” organisms (lichens) that are more than just fungi. Particular attention is given to examples of fungi that might be found in the home and encountered in nature.
The Kingdom Fungi is a useful introductory text for naturalists, mycologists, and anyone who wants to become more familiar with, and more appreciative of, the fascinating world of fungi.
The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross
Professor Allegro (Univ. of Manchester) has hitherto been known for his several excellent books on the Dead Sea Scrolls. In an unusual reversal, he has now produced a book that will make The Passover Plot seem the last refuge of theological ultra-conservatism. The thesis of the book is simple enough: Jesus did not exist, the Gospels were & are a hoax, & Christianity is the atavistic vestige of an ancient fertility cult in which the object of worship was a peculiarly phallic mushroom, Amanita muscaria, capable of producing psychedelic reactions. As farfetched as all this may seem, it cannot be denied that he has brought to this work the same care & scholarly detachment that have characterized his earlier, & more conventional, works; & he has made not one concession to the sensational nature of his thesis. The book is, in fact, a demanding one, which presupposes in the reader at least a working knowledge of the ancient Semitic tongues & of the sciences considered auxiliary to biblical studies. Only the most determined non-professional iconoclast will be willing to wade through his unrelenting jargon. None of which, of course, will affect the demand for what is probably to become a very controversial work.--Kirkus (edited)
46Psilocybin Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats: A Guide to the History, Identification, and Use of Psychoactive Fungi
A full-color guide to psilocybin mushrooms—how to forage, identify, grow, and use them—with detailed descriptions, 300 stunning photographs, tips for dosing safely, and more, from a world-renowned mycologist.The past decade has seen an explosion of interest in using psilocybin (aka psychoactive or “magic”) mushrooms for recreational and medicinal purposes.In this comprehensive, full-color reference, Paul Stamets offers descriptions and 300 photographs of more than 60 psilocybin varieties and their lookalikes common to North America, Europe, and Australasia. He outlines the history and cultural use of magic mushrooms in traditional rituals and ceremonies, their natural geographic distribution and habitats, and keys to growing your own mushroom patch. But perhaps most important, Stamets explains how to reliably distinguish between a non-poisonous, psychoactive mushroom and one of its highly toxic, even deadly, lookalikes.Packed with a lifetime of scientific and real-world research, Psilocybin Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats brings depth and understanding to an often-misunderstood topic. Revealing the potential of these powerful, mind-awakening fungi to help us live better, happier lives through micro- and macro-dosing, this handbook is an indispensable—and potentially lifesaving—addition to mushroom field guides from the biggest name in mycology.
Mr. Bloomfield's Orchard: The Mysterious World of Mushrooms, Molds, and Mycologists
Money also showcases the lives of famed mycologists--including Reginald Buller who wore horse blinders as he walked to work, the better to study luminescent fungi in his dark lab, and Charles Tulasne, the Audubon of fungi, whose illustrations of specimens border on art. And he recounts his own childhood introduction to fungi in Mr. Bloomfield's orchard, where trees and fruit were devoured by a rogue's gallery of bitter rot, canker, rust, powdery mildew, rubbery wood, and scab. Replete with historical photographs and simple yet effective illustrations, told with a refreshing sense of humor, Mr. Bloomfield's Orchard will fascinate anyone interested in the natural world.
Shroom: Mind-bendingly Good Recipes for Cultivated and Wild Mushrooms
The button mushroom better make room on the shelf. We're seeing a growing number of supermarkets displaying types of mushrooms that are leaving shoppers scratching their heads. Home cooks are buying previously obscure species from growers and gatherers at local farmers markets and adventurous cooks are collecting all manners of edible mushrooms in the woods. People are asking the question, "Now that I have it, what do I do with it?" Home cooks and chefs alike will need a book and an educated guide to walk them through the basics of cooking everything from portobellos and morels to chanterelles and the increasingly available, maitake, oyster, and beech mushrooms.
Shroom is that book and Chef Becky Selengut is that tour guide. In a voice that's informed, but friendly and down-to-earth, Selengut's Shroom is a book for anyone looking to add mushrooms to their diet, find new ways to use mushrooms as part of a diet trending towards less meat, or diversify their repertoire with mushroom-accented recipes inspired from Indian, Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese cuisines, among others. Recipes include Maitake Tikka Masala, King Trumpet and Tomato Sandwiches with Spicy Mayo, and Hedgehog Mushrooms and Cheddar Grits with Fried eggs and Tabasco Honey. Written in a humorous voice, Becky Selengut guides the home cook through 15 species-specific chapters on mushroom cookery with the same levity and expertise she brought to the topic of sustainable seafood in her IACP-nominated 2011 book Good Fish. Selengut's wife and sommelier April Pogue once again teams up to provide wine pairings for each of the 75 recipes.
49Mushrooms of the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada
The Northeast is one of the best places to find mushrooms; they are both abundant and spectacularly diverse. Mushrooms of the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada is a compact, beautifully illustrated guide packed with descriptions and photographs of more than 500 of the region's most conspicuous, distinctive, and ecologically important mushrooms.
Covers Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Ontario, and most of Quebec
More than 550 superb color photographs
Helpful keys for identification
Clear, color-coded layout
An essential reference for mushroom enthusiasts, hikers, and naturalists
50Mushrooms of the Rocky Mountain Region
In Mushrooms of the Rocky Mountain Region, Vera Evenson describes more than 220 species of the region’s most conspicuous, distinctive, interesting, and ecologically important mushrooms. This comprehensive guide features introductory chapters on the basics of mushroom structure, life cycles, and habitats. Profiles include color photographs, keys, and diagrams to aid in identification, and tips on how to recognize and avoid poisonous mushrooms.
Covers Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, as well as adjacent areas in Montana and Idaho
Helpful keys for identification
Clear, color-coded layout
An essential reference for mushroom enthusiasts, hikers, and naturalists
Treasures from the Kingdom of Fungi: Featuring Photographs of Mushrooms and Other Fungi from Around the World
The Essential Guide to Cultivating Mushrooms: Simple and Advanced Techniques for Growing Shiitake, Oyster, Lion's Mane, and Maitake Mushrooms at Home
Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds
Some fungi make deadly poisons and psychedelic drugs that have interesting histories in and of themselves, and Hudler weaves tales of those into his scientific account of the nature of the fungi. The role of fungi in the Irish potato famine, in the Salem Witch Trials, in the philosophical writings of Greek scholars, and in the creation of ginger snaps are just a few of the many great moments in history to grace these pages.
Hudler moves so easily from discussing human history to exploring scientific knowledge, all with a sense of humor and enthusiasm, that one can well understand why he is an award-winning teacher both at Cornell University as well as nationally. Few, for instance, who read his invitation to get out of your chair and take a short walk will ever again look without curiosity and admiration at the rotten part of the world around them. Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds is full of information that will satisfy history buffs, science enthusiasts, and anyone interested in nature's miracles. Everyone in Hudler's audience will develop a new appreciation of the debt they owe to the molds for such common products as penicillin, wine, and bread.
-- "New Scientist"
54The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins
Matsutake is the most valuable mushroom in the world--and a weed that grows in human-disturbed forests across the northern hemisphere. Through its ability to nurture trees, matsutake helps forests to grow in daunting places. It is also an edible delicacy in Japan, where it sometimes commands astronomical prices. In all its contradictions, matsutake offers insights into areas far beyond just mushrooms and addresses a crucial question: what manages to live in the ruins we have made?
A tale of diversity within our damaged landscapes, The Mushroom at the End of the World follows one of the strangest commodity chains of our times to explore the unexpected corners of capitalism. Here, we witness the varied and peculiar worlds of matsutake commerce: the worlds of Japanese gourmets, capitalist traders, Hmong jungle fighters, industrial forests, Yi Chinese goat herders, Finnish nature guides, and more. These companions also lead us into fungal ecologies and forest histories to better understand the promise of cohabitation in a time of massive human destruction.
By investigating one of the world's most sought-after fungi, The Mushroom at the End of the World presents an original examination into the relation between capitalist destruction and collaborative survival within multispecies landscapes, the prerequisite for continuing life on earth.
-- "Publisher's Weekly"
The Rebel's Apothecary: A Practical Guide to the Healing Magic of Cannabis, Cbd, and Mushrooms
When health coach and wellness blogger Jenny Sansouci learned that her father was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, her extensive knowledge of the latest alternative therapies was put to the test. Jenny dove into the world of cannabis and mushrooms and their medicinal properties - and she and her dad are now outspoken champions of the healing power of these plants and fungi - not only to tame the side effects of chemotherapy, but to address everyday wellness concerns.
The Rebel's Apothecary is the result of her heartfelt and rigorous quest -- a science-based and supportive guide that will enhance the lives of anyone living with pain, anxiety, depression, a weakened immune system, insomnia, and more. Complete with background information, dosing instructions, and everyday recipes, this is the essential handbook for harnessing the ancient healing powers of cannabis and mushrooms --safely, without confusion, fear, or an unwanted high.
In addition to debunking myths and de-stigmatizing these powerful healing plants and fungi, The Rebel's Apothecary presents:
- Specific protocols and dosage guides for wellness uses (mood, sleep, immunity, focus, energy) and managing common chemotherapy side effects
- Everyday wellness routines
- Recipes for delicious, easy, health-enhancing cannabis and mushroom infused smoothies, coffee drinks, teas, elixirs, gummies, and broths - including recipes from chefs and wellness experts like Dr. Andrew Weil, Kris Carr, Seamus Mullen, Marco Canora and more
- The latest research on CBD, THC, medicinal mushrooms and psilocybin
- Tips for creating a cutting-edge home apothecary of your own
56The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries
57Mushrooms of the Northwest: A Simple Guide to Common Mushrooms
Hundreds of full-color photographs with easy-to-understand text make this a perfect visual guide. Learn about more than 400 species of common wild mushrooms found in the Northwest states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The species (from Morel Mushrooms to Shelf Mushrooms) are organized by shape, then by color, so you can identify them by their visual characteristics. Plus, with the Top Edibles and Top Toxics sections, you'll begin to learn which are the edible wild mushrooms. The information in the book, written by Teresa Marrone and Drew Parker, is accessible to beginners but useful for even experienced mushroom seekers.
Psilocybin Mushrooms: The Complete Guide to Cultivation, Safe Use and Effects of Magic Mushrooms
59North American Boletes: A Color Guide to the Fleshy Pored Mushrooms
60Teaming with Fungi: The Organic Grower's Guide to Mycorrhizae
Teaming with Fungi is an important guide to mycorrhizae and the role they play in agriculture, horticulture, and hydroponics. Almost every plant in a garden forms a relationship with fungi, and many plants would not exist without their fungal partners. By better understanding this relationship, home gardeners can take advantage of the benefits of fungi, which include an increased uptake in nutrients, resistance to drought, earlier fruiting, and more. This must-have guide will teach you how fungi interact with plants and how to best to employ them in your home garden.
100 Edible Mushrooms
Kuo describes in detail how to identify each species, where and when to find them, and how to cook them in creative and delicious recipes. The mushrooms presented in the book are the most often eaten varieties, and a description of the button mushrooms found in the grocery store is included. All of the mushrooms have at least one full-color illustration and some several more to aid in identifying and distinguishing look-alike and nonedible species.
An indispensable book for mushroom hunters, naturalists, and cooks
Michael Kuo, an English teacher in Illinois, is the developer of mushroomexpert.com, a popular online resource for mushroom identification and morel hunting.
Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night
Come feel the cool and shadowed breeze,
come smell your way among the trees,
come touch rough bark and leathered leaves:
Welcome to the night.
Welcome to the night, where mice stir and furry moths flutter. Where snails spiral into shells as orb spiders circle in silk. Where the roots of oak trees recover and repair from their time in the light. Where the porcupette eats delicacies—raspberry leaves!—and coos and sings.
Come out to the cool, night wood, and buzz and hoot and howl—but do beware of the great horned owl—for it’s wild and it’s windy way out in the woods!
This Newbery Honor-winning picture book combines beautifully written poetry with facts of the forest and elaborate illustrations to form a marvelously engaging collection.
Decomposing the Shadow: Lessons from the Psilocybin Mushroom
64Scientific American 20th January 2026
Scientific American covers the most important and exciting research, ideas and knowledge in science, health, technology, the environment and society. It is committed to sharing trustworthy knowledge and enhancing our understanding of the world .
A Field Guide to Mushrooms of the Carolinas
What's included:
Hundreds of full color photographs of Carolina mushrooms
Information on mushroom edibility and toxicity
Microscopic information
An overview of the Carolinas' role in the history of American mycology
Perfect for those interested in learning more about mushrooms, the unusually large number of described species makes this book a must-have for experienced mushroom hunters as well as beginners. Here, at last, is the field guide for North and South Carolina mushrooms, from the mountains to the coast, presented in a single, portable volume.
Magic Mushrooms: The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible – A Guide to Cultivation and Safe Use
67Scientific American April 2026
Scientific American covers the most important and exciting research, ideas and knowledge in science, health, technology, the environment and society. It is committed to sharing trustworthy knowledge and enhancing our understanding of the world .
Astounding Mushrooms
Astounding Mushrooms features gorgeous full-color photographs of more than 200 mushroom species in their wild habitat. The close-up images reveal every size of growth, every shade of color, every shadow of silhouette, and every detail of texture. Chapter text sheds light on this unique living species, neither animal nor plant. Concise captions identify the mushrooms and provide further description of their biology.
As Astounding Mushrooms reveals, mushrooms are astonishingly diverse. Shapes include buttons, nests, fans, feet, clubs, hooves, trumpets, mesh, tentacles, stars, tubes, and spines. Textures are smooth, shiny or pimpled. They can be dry or wet, edible or deadly. Nuanced colors and blushes include yellows, reds, blues, and greens. They may be speckled, stinky, slimy, hairy, or fuzzy. Some wear a hat, a "skirt", or can even move.
Wild mushrooms are enjoyed by an increasing number of locavores, vegans and wild food enthusiasts. Chefs everywhere are foraging wild foods, including mushrooms. Mushroom hunting tours have become popular, and mycolophiles are sharing their enthusiasm and identification tips online.
Astounding Mushrooms invites readers into the extraordinary fungi universe.
69Mushrooms: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar North American Species
Mushrooms of Northeast North America: Midwest to New England
The Third Mushroom
Sacred Mushroom of Visions: Teonanácatl: A Sourcebook on the Psilocybin Mushroom
North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Fishes: North America
Over 700 new full-color photographs, 286 black-and-white illustrations, and 637 maps combine to make this book the most comprehensive field guide available to the fishes of North America.
•635 species covered in detail, with notes on 771 more
•723 full-color identification photographs
•286 black-and-white illustrations
•Visual organization of species photographs by shape for easy identification
•Range map for each species
•Glossary of useful terms
75Mushrooming with Confidence: A Guide to Collecting Edible and Tasty Mushrooms
There are thousands of different species of fungi, so it can be hard to tell which are edible and which are poisonous when you are picking them for yourself in the wild. Safe and unsafe species often closely resemble each other, and worrying about which mushrooms are safe and which might be deadly can take all the fun out of mushrooming. Enter Mushrooming with Confidence!
Improving on the usual overwhelming and exhaustive wild plant guidebook, Mushrooming with Confidence is a slim, handy manual that focuses on the tastiest and most common mushrooms, so that you can easily spot those that are not only safe to eat, but also a delight to cook and share!
Here mushrooms are divided into four identification categories so that anyone will be able to recognize what he or she is looking at quickly and correctly. Thirty of the most common and delicious types are explained in detail, from the common field mushroom to the pretty purple amethyst deceiver and the prolific and tasty charcoal burner. Each mushroom includes a “Positive ID Checklist” that the reader can go through to be absolutely certain they have the right species, and more than 300 color photographs make it a snap to know exactly what kind of mushroom you’ve found . . . and whether you really want to pick it!
With lists of the best tools for mushrooming, the best techniques for getting a mushroom out of the ground in one piece, and even how to remove worms, Mushrooming with Confidence will extinguish any fear or doubt that might stop you from hunting down your own delicious mushrooms. This will prove a fun and essential guide for novice and experienced pickers alike!
The Great Encyclopedia of Mushrooms
Mushroom Magick: A Visionary Field Guide
Popular culture critics Erik Davis and Daniel Pinchbeck provide background and testimony in elegant essays, and mushroom expert Gary Lincoff contributes notes. This beautifully designed and profusely illustrated mushroom bible will appeal to nature lovers, mushroom hunters, and enthusiasts of all things psychedelic.
78The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants
The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America
It is impossible to overstate the cultural significance of the four men described in Don Lattin’s The Harvard Psychedelic Club. Huston Smith, tirelessly working to promote cross-cultural religious and spiritual tolerance. Richard Alpert, a.k.a. Ram Dass, inspiring generations with his mantra, “be here now.” Andrew Weil, undisputed leader of the holistic medicine revolution. And, of course, Timothy Leary, the charismatic, rebellious counter-culture icon and LSD guru. Journalist Don Lattin provides the funny, moving inside story of the “Cambridge Quartet,” who crossed paths with the infamous Harvard Psilocybin Project in the early 60’s, and went on to pioneer the Mind/Body/Spirit movement that would popularize yoga, vegetarianism, and Eastern mysticism in the Western world.
Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Soil Fertility
Mycorrhizal fungi have been waiting a long time for people to recognize just how important they are to the making of dynamic soils. These microscopic organisms partner with the root systems of approximately 95 percent of the plants on Earth, and they sequester carbon in much more meaningful ways than human "carbon offsets" will ever achieve. Pick up a handful of old-growth forest soil and you are holding 26 miles of threadlike fungal mycelia, if it could be stretched it out in a straight line. Most of these soil fungi are mycorrhizal, supporting plant health in elegant and sophisticated ways. The boost to green immune function in plants and community-wide networking turns out to be the true basis of ecosystem resiliency. A profound intelligence exists in the underground nutrient exchange between fungi and plant roots, which in turn determines the nutrient density of the foods we grow and eat.
Exploring the science of symbiotic fungi in layman's terms, holistic farmer Michael Phillips (author of The Holistic Orchard and The Apple Grower) sets the stage for practical applications across the landscape. The real impetus behind no-till farming, gardening with mulches, cover cropping, digging with broadforks, shallow cultivation, forest-edge orcharding, and everything related to permaculture is to help the plants and fungi to prosper . . . which means we prosper as well.
Building soil structure and fertility that lasts for ages results only once we comprehend the nondisturbance principle. As the author says, "What a grower understands, a grower will do." Mycorrhizal Planet abounds with insights into "fungal consciousness" and offers practical, regenerative techniques that are pertinent to gardeners, landscapers, orchardists, foresters, and farmers. Michael's fungal acumen will resonate with everyone who is fascinated with the unseen workings of nature and concerned about maintaining and restoring the health of our soils, our climate, and the quality of life on Earth for generations to come.
Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America
More than 1,000 handsome color photographs by Roger Phillips illustrate this comprehensive guide to mushrooms and other fungi of North America, in all their astonishing variety.
Amateur collectors, expert mycologists and armchair naturalists will welcome the reissue of this valuable reference.
Each photograph has a neutral background to eliminate distractions. The specimens are arranged to show the cap, stem, gills, spines, and a cross section, usually in various stages of growth.
The information on each mushroom variety includes:
Dimensions of cap, gills and stem Color and texture description of flesh Description of odor and taste Habitat and growing season Description of spores Categorization of edibility. Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America also includes useful tips and helpful advice on collecting specimens and identifying them. This book is the ideal introduction to mycology.
The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: Finding, Identifying, and Cooking
Never Home Alone: From Microbes to Millipedes, Camel Crickets, and Honeybees, the Natural History of Where We Live
However domesticated our houses appear, they are wild beyond imagination. Look down in the basement, up in the attic, under the floorboards, and even in the showerhead, and you'll find life everywhere. Biologist Rob Dunn and his team have done it in homes worldwide, and they found nearly 200,000 species!
In Never Home Alone, Dunn introduces us to these tiny tenants and shows us how -- in almost every case -- they make our lives better, and explains why trying to eradicate the bad ones just makes our lives worse. No one who reads this engrossing, revelatory, and just plain fun book will look at their home, or the life in it, in the same way again.
A New York Times Book Review's "Editor's Choice"
"Excellent." -- Wall Street Journal
"You'll love Never Home Alone." -- Bustle
Healing Mushrooms: Effective Treatments for Today's Illnesses
Macrofungi Associated with Oaks of Eastern North America
86Plants and Fungi: The Definitive Visual Encyclopedia (DK Definitive Visual Encyclopedias)
Foraging New England: Edible Wild Food and Medicinal Plants from Maine to the Adirondacks to Long Island Sound
88Fungi: Discover the Science and Secrets Behind the World of Mushrooms
The Pocket Guide To Mushrooms
Field Guide to Wild Mushrooms of Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic
Suited to both the novice and the experienced mushroom hunter, this book helps the reader identify mushrooms with the use of illustrations, descriptions, and environmental observations. Russell's fifty years of experience in hunting, studying, and teaching about wild mushrooms have been carefully distilled into this easy-to-use and well-designed guide. The book is divided into the four seasons, each with its unique mushroom offerings. Each mushroom section includes a detailed description, information about the mushroom's biology, tips on where the mushroom is most likely to be found, and a short "nutshell" description for quick reference. The book also includes color photographs of each of the mushrooms described.
Russell's Field Guide to the Wild Mushrooms of Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic shows the reader not only how to identify the most common mushrooms found in the region but also how to avoid common copycats--and what to do with the mushrooms once they're identified and harvested. With both color illustrations and insightful descriptions of one hundred of the area's most common mushrooms, Field Guide is an indispensable reference for the curious hiker, the amateur biologist, or the adventurous chef.
Medicinal Mushrooms: An Exploration of Tradition, Healing, & Culture
Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom
Much stranger than the fictions it has inspired, the world of the magic mushroom is a place where shamans and hippies rub shoulders with psychiatrists, poets and international bankers. The magic mushroom was rediscovered only fifty years ago but has accumulated all sorts of folktales and urban legends along the way. In this timely and definitive study, Andy Letcher strips away the myths to get at the true story of how hallucinogenic mushrooms, once shunned in the West as the most pernicious of poisons, came to be the illicit drug of choice.
Chronicling the history of the magic mushroom, from its use by the Aztecs of Central America and the tribes of Siberia through to the present day, Letcher takes a critical and humorous look at the drug's more recent manifestations. Since the 1970s scientists and others in major Western nations, the United States and the United Kingdom in particular, have identified hundreds of hallucinogenic species, isolated their active ingredients, learned how to cultivate them on an industrial scale, and spread them around the world. More than any other civilization that has come before us, and despite all the myths we have built, we, by all rights, are the true magic mushroom enthusiasts.
Informative, lively and impeccably researched, Shroom presents a unique and engaging study of this most extraordinary of psychedelic drugs.
Texas Mushrooms: A Field Guide
At last, here is the Texas mushroom book--a colorful, easy-to-follow guide that will surprise and delight uninitiated nature enthusiasts and at the same time provide the experienced mushroom hunter with the first field guide of its kind in Texas.
Excellent color photographs and precise descriptions of over 200 species will enable the mushroom hunter--even the amateur--to make quick, careful easy distinctions between the edible varieties and the potentially toxic ones. In addition, kitchen-tested recipes are included along with a microscopic spore chart, glossary, and blbllography.
In Texas, mushroom hunting can be a year-round, state-wide activity, and with this enticing introduction, collecting, identifying, and preparing wild mushrooms will become an activity the entire family can enjoy while appreciating the beauty of Texas from a new and fascinating angle.
94The Scout's Guide to Wild Edibles: Learn How to Forage, Prepare & Eat 40 Wild Foods
The Practical Mushroom Encyclopedia Identifying, Picking and cooking with Mushrooms
Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada
Mushrooms of Colorado and the Southern Rocky Mountains
The Rainbow Beneath My Feet: A Mushroom Dyer's Field Guide
100 Cool Mushrooms
Each is described and shown, including its ecology and physical features. Inside, you'll find mushrooms such as:
Phallus rubicundus, a stinkhorn that in certain areas appears to be spreading on wood chips sold as commercial mulch. Now you might just find it in your backyard.
Cordyceps militaris, a little orange club fungus that grows in insects, then explodes from their bodies.
Piptoporus betulinus, a mushroom commonly found on birch trees, was found carefully packed in the belongings of the Tyrolean Iceman. Archaeologists speculate that he used it for medicinal purposes.
. . . and 97 more!
Dr. Michael Kuo, the principal developer of MushroomExpert.Com, is an English teacher in Illinois and an amateur mycologist. He is the author of Morels and 100 Edible Mushrooms.
Dr. Andrew Methven is Professor of Mycology and Chair of the Biology Department at Eastern Illinois University.
100Scientific American July/August 2026
Scientific American covers the most important and exciting research, ideas and knowledge in science, health, technology, the environment and society. It is committed to sharing trustworthy knowledge and enhancing our understanding of the world .