Table Of ContentAcknowledgments
Some of this material has appeared in Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest, by
Teresa Marrone and Kathy Yerich. It may have been edited for the Northwest.
Cover, book design and illustrations by Jonathan Norberg
Page layout by Teresa Marrone
Edited by Brett Ortler
Photo credits by photographer and page number:
All photos by Drew Parker unless noted.
Cover photo: Rainbow Chanterelle (Cantharellus roseocanus) by Drew Parker
Additional photo credits
Teresa Marrone: 9, all 3. 10, Conical, Flat, Bowl-shaped, Funnel-shaped. 11,
Irregular, Scalloped edge, Ribbed, Hygrophanous (all 3). 12, Volva. 13, Skirt-like
ring, Ring zone. 14, Attached gills. 15, Cross-veins, Jagged gills, Bolete tubes,
Very fine pores, Larger pores, Angular pores. 17, Spore print. 26, Hollow interiors.
27, Gray form of yellow morels. 121, Cross veins. 162, Faded specimens. 163,
Shrimp Russula. 203, T. pubescens.
Walt Sturgeon: 58, Deadly Galerina. 59, Velvet Foot. 95, Bearded Milk Cap. 173,
Slippery Jack.
MushroomObserver.org: See pages 274–275.
Others: 7, BGSmith/Shutterstock.com. 111, L. riparius: Fred Stevens/
Mykoweb.com. 121, Hairs at base: Kathy Yerich.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Mushrooms of the Northwest
Copyright © 2019 by Teresa Marrone and Drew Parker
Published by Adventure Publications, an imprint of AdventureKEEN
330 Garfield Street South
Cambridge, Minnesota 55008
(800) 678-7006
www.adventurepublications.net
All rights reserved
Printed in China
ISBN 978-1-59193-792-0 (pbk.); ISBN 978-1-59193-793-7 (ebook)
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
About This Book
What Is a Mushroom?
How to Look at Mushrooms
Eating Mushrooms
Digging Deeper into Mycology
Terrain and Climate
How to Use This Book
Basic Categories
TOP EDIBLES
TOP TOXICS
MUSHROOMS GROUPED BY TYPE
Cap & Stem with Gills
Cap & Stem with Pores
Atypical Caps
Shelf with Pores
Shelf with Gills
Shelf/Other
Spherical Mushrooms
Cup-Shaped Mushrooms
Coral and Club Fungi
Miscellaneous Mushrooms
HELPFUL RESOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
GLOSSARY
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
About This Book
This book was written with the beginning mushroom enthusiast in mind. It is a
pocket-size field guide featuring hundreds of the most common species in the
Northwest, with clear pictures and additional comparisons for each species. Many
“beginner” books feature just the top eminently edible and deadly toxic varieties,
while leaving out the hundreds—maybe thousands—of other species that grow in
the area. Some books are generalized and may present descriptions and photos of
mushrooms that don’t grow in our area, the Northwest. Given the sheer number of
mushroom species in the Northwest alone, one book cannot cover every species
you are likely to find … especially not one you’d care to carry into the field!
This book includes Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
Our hope is that this book will both spark your interest about mushrooms and
provide you with the means to learn more. A list of useful resources is included at the
end of this book, as is a list of some mushroom terms you may encounter in those
and other resources. First and foremost, we have arranged the entries in this book
by what they look like, or their morphology. Many of the genus and species names
that originally placed a mushroom in a certain family were assigned by experts
because of the mushroom’s physical appearance, and many other books arrange
species based on their scientific names, grouping members of a genus together. But
it is hard to look up a mushroom in a book by its name when you don’t have a clue
what it is yet.
Many misidentifications start with a hopeful guess that guides you to a book entry
that, while incorrect, may have numerous features that seem to match the specimen
you have found. The temptation is strong to “force” the description to fit what you
have in hand. This can be a dangerous path to travel when attempting to identify wild
mushrooms; a mistaken identification may prove harmful or, in the worst case, even
fatal if a misidentified mushroom is eaten because the reader attempted to make the
specimen “fit” the description given in a book. For this reason, we strongly advise
that novice mushroom enthusiasts consult multiple reliable references or,
better still, a local authority who can verify the identity of the mushroom in
question before it is eaten.
Remember, too, that when attempting to compare features of mushrooms in various
references or when discussing them with other enthusiasts, the scientific name
(which is always in Latin) must be used. The colorful, sometimes descriptive and
often humorous common names of mushrooms are fun but can vary by region and
are not a truly reliable way to label a species. Using the Latin genus and species
name, referred to as taxonomy, is the standard and most respected way of referring
to a specific variety. However, without a microscope it is often impossible to
determine the difference between species with similar appearances. Even some
scientists have been overheard in the field referring to a drab specimen simply as an
LBM (“little brown mushroom”).
To make things more complicated, as more species are discovered and scientists
have the ability to study them in more depth with microscopic examination, mating
studies and DNA sequencing, authorities are finding that many of the mushrooms
that were given their Latin name hundreds of years ago may belong to a different
genus than that to which they were originally assigned. In fact, some of the names
remain in constant flux, creating so much confusion that at any one time a specific
mushroom could be referred to by multiple names, depending on your source. Again,
we’ve attempted to list as many species as possible while keeping this a pocket-size
book. We’ve also used single quotes around names (such as Russula ‘densifolia’)
used for species which appear in, say, Europe but not in North America; this means
that specimens found in North America are very similar but not exactly the same as
their European counterparts, but a new name has not yet been published.
There is also a complete index starting on pg. 282 referencing both common and
Latin names, and you’ll see that we have included both on the ID pages.
No person is born with the knowledge to identify mushrooms; it must be learned from
books, teachers and other sources, as well as a lot of time spent in the field. We
have been greatly aided in our decades-long studies by numerous people who
generously shared their expertise with us. In writing this book we have also
consulted many excellent books and other sources; a list of the best is included in
Helpful Resources and Bibliography.
We would like to thank Kathy Yerich, co-author (with Teresa Marrone) of Mushrooms
of the Upper Midwest. That book is the first in this series of mushroom identification
guides, and the basic structure of Mushrooms of the Northwest is based on the
Upper Midwest book. Some of the text in the Northwest book is picked up or adapted
from the Upper Midwest book, and we gratefully acknowledge Kathy’s contributions.
What Is a Mushroom?
Mycology is the study of mushrooms. In very general terms, mushrooms and macro
fungi are the fruiting bodies of organisms from the fungi kingdom. Indeed, many
references refer to the aboveground portion of a fungal organism as a fruitbody,
although the word mushroom is far more common in everyday use. Mushrooms are
not plants, because unlike plants they do not use sunlight to photosynthesize their
food. More like animals, they use enzymes to break down what they consume. In
their role as decomposers of organic material, fungi are essential to life on earth,
because without them, the world would be buried in its own debris. In the forest,
fungi break down dead or dying organic matter and render it into soil, making it
usable for new growth.
The mycelium (root-like filaments) of the organism may spread for miles
underground, or inhabit an entire tree. The part that we see (and harvest, if we so
choose) is comparable to the fruit we pick from a tree; the tree—and the mycelium—
remains to bear fruit the following season. Like fruits, mushrooms can also assist in
reproduction; just as an apple produces seeds that can grow into a new tree,
mushrooms produce microscopic spores that are dispersed by wind, insects or
other vectors, allowing the larger organism to spread into new areas. Of course, that
