Mushrooms: the visual guide to more than 500 species of mushroom from around the world

312 Pages·60.138 MB·English

by  Eyewitness Handbooks

SCHLES
EYEWITNESS<M> HANDB OKS
O
MUSHROOM
The visual guide to more than
500 species of mushroom from
around the world

EYEWITNESS<m>HANDDOOKS
MUSHROOMS
>a
r
&?m'>\ J
\s.
jVJ*
E YE WI TNES S <W> HA N D Ii () () AS
MUSHROOMS
Thomas
L/essof
%4
EditorialConsultant
Gary Lincoff
Photography by
Neil Fletcher
M
DK PUBLISHING, INC.
Contents
A DK Publishing Book Introduction 6
ImportantNotice Introduction 6
Theauthorandpublishersstronglyadviseanyone HowThis BookWorks 9
gatheringfungiforeatingtoseekthehelpofan Whatisa Mushroom? 10
experiencedmycologist.Nevereatanyfungus FruitbodyShapes 12
unlessyouare100%certainofitsidentity. Cap Features 14
Weacceptnoresponsiblityforreaderswho
donotfollowthisadvice. Sporesand Spore Dispersal 16
USEditorMarySutherland Mushroom Lifestyles 18
ProjectEditorJoWeeks Mushroom Habitats 20
ProjectArtEditorColinWalton ForayingforMushrooms 22
PictureResearchMollieGillardandSeanHunter Identification 24
ProductionControllerMichelle Thomas
ManagingEditorJonathanMetcalf
ManagingArtEditorPeterCross Gap& Stem Fungi with
FirstAmericanEdition,1998 DecurrentGills 28
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 Funnel-shapedwith Fibrous Flesh 28
FirstpublishedintheUnitedStatesby WithConvexCapand Fibrous Flesh 37
DKPublishing,Inc.95MadisonAvenue Crumbly Flesh ExudingMilk 43
NewYork,NewYork10016
VisitusontheWorldWideWebat
http://www.dk.com
Copyright©1998
DorlingKindersleyLimited,London
Textcopyright©1998 ThomasLasss0e
AllrightsreservedunderInternationalandPan-American
CopyrightConventions.Nopartofthispublicationmay j
bereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted
inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,
photocopying,recording,orotherwise,withouttheprior
writtenpermissionofthecopyrightowner.Publishedin
(ireatBritainbyDorlingKindersleyLimited.
La;ss0e, 'Thomas.
Mushrooms/byThomasLaessoeand
GaryLincoff.—1stAmericaned.
p. cm.—(Fyewitnesshandbooks)
Includesindex.
ISBN0-7894-3286-2hardcover
ISBN0-7894-3335-4flexibinding Gap& Stem Fungi with
1. Mushrooms-Identification. AdnexedtoAdnateGills 56
2. Mushrooms-Pictorialworks. Fleshywith NoObviousVeil 56
I.Lincoff,Gary. II.Title. III.Series. With Cobweblike Veil 69
QK617.L248 1998 With Stem Ringor RingZone 78
579.6--dc21 97-44418
With FibrousCapand DarkSpores 98
GIP
Medium-sized with Smooth Cap 103
ReproductionbyColourscan,Singapore
With Crumbly Flesh 120
Filmoutputby TheRight'Type,England
PrintedandboundinSingapore VerySmall with Smooth Cap 132
byKyodoPrintingCo. Very Small, Cap notSmooth 142
Antler-toCoral-likeFi ngi -
Rounded Fi ngi 253
Above Ground 253
Below Ground 258
Gap& Stem Fungi Pear-toPestle-shapedFi ngi 260
with FreeGills 145
WithVolvaand/orVeil ScalesonCap 145 GUP-TO Disk-si mm d 264
With Stem RingorRingZone 156 Without "Eggsi" 264
WithoutVeil 171 Cup-shaped Containing "Eggs" 274
InkywithAge 174
With GillsJoined toaCollar 177
Trumpet-shaped Fi \<
GapFungiwith Stem
Off-centerorAbsent 178
Gap & Stem Fungi with Pores 184
With Soft Flesh 184
WithTough Flesh 202
Honeycomb-, Brain-,
or SaddlelikeGap 207
Bracket-or Skinlike 211
With Pores 211
WrinkledorSmooth Underneath 228 Star-shaped & Gagei iki
Skinlike;GrowingFlatorCrustlike 232 Fungi 277
Fungi with Spines 234 Ear- or Brainlike,
Gelatinous Fungi 281
Club-shapedFungi 240
Smooth orHairy 240 SporeChart 284
WithPimplesora Glossary 289
DustySurface 244 Index 290
Phallus-shaped 246 Acknowledgments 304
INTRODUCTION
6 •
Introduction
Thefungalkingdom isenormous, withfungioccurringinallhabitattypes
allovertheworld. Ranginginsizefrom microscopicyeaststo
large,fleshy mushrooms,fungialsohavehighlydiverse
lifestyles, someformingbeneficialrelationships with living
plants, othersdegradingoreven killingtheirhosts. Allplay
avitalroleintheprocessesthatgovern lifeon ourplanet
THE STUDYofthe fungal kingdom Mycologists believe that
is referred toas mycology. Until onlyabout80,000ofthese
comparativelyrecently, fungi were species have been
simplyconsidered to bea lowerform properlydocumented-
ofplant life and were studied as partof fewerthan five
botany. Theywere alsooften regarded percentofthe AFlyAmanita
with suspicion due totheirhabitof estimated total Thecolorfulbut
appearingseeminglyoutofnowhere numberinexistence. poisonousAmanita
afterrain. These factors perhaps help Ofthe undescribed muscariaisperhaps
explain whythere are so manyfungi as species up to this thebestknownof
yet undescribed, although the sheer point, manyare allfungusspecies.
volumeofspecies is alsoan important thought to inhabit tropical rain forest
reason. Currentestimates putthe areas, buteven in much moreaccessible
numberofspecies in the fungal regions such as northern Europe,which
kingdom atapproximately 1.5 million, have been quitecloselystudied, new
compared to, forexample, flowering species are still beingdiscovered,
plants at 250,000species. includingsome thatare large and fleshy.
Secret Life
<FungusCount Mostofus are familiarwith mushrooms
Thispiechart and toadstools, found mostly in wooded
representstheworlds areas in the fall, butfewerpeople are
1.5millionspeciesof aware thateach ofthese is simply the
fungi. The"slices"show- "fruitbody" ofa much largerorganism
speciesidentifiedsofar:
28.700macro-
.Wattofungi (fruitbody'-forming)
Rusts,smuts,molds fungi;24,000rusts,
Lichens smuts,andmolds,
Notdescribed and13.500lichens.
Lichens>
.1 lichenisacompoundorganism,theresultofan
associationbetweenafungusandalgae. Lichens
surviveonnutrientsfilteredfromtheair.aidedby
thephotosynthesisofthealgalpartner. Theyalso
takeupairpollutants,soareusefulindicatorsof
airquality. Thepictureshowstheverycommon
lichen YellowScalesfXanthoriaparietina/