All that the rain promises, and more ... : a hip pocket guide to Western mushrooms

“[ All That the Rain Promises and More ] is certainly the best guide to fungi, and may in fact be a long lasting masterpiece in guide writing for all subjects.”— Roger McKnight, The New York Times Mushrooms appeal to all kinds of people—and so will this handy pocket guide, which includes key information for more than 200 Western mushrooms Over 200 edible and poisonous mushrooms are depicted with simple checklists of their identifying features, as David Arora celebrates the fun in fungi with the same engaging bend of wit and wisdom, fact and fancy, that has made his comprehensive guide, Mushrooms Demystified, the mushroom hunter’s bible. “The best guide for the beginner. I’d buy it no matter where I lived in North America.”— Whole Earth Catalog Introduction: How to use this book ; Format and terminology ; Spore color and spore prints ; Collecting gear ; Seasonal occurrence ; Eating mushrooms ; Medicinal mushrooms ; Consciousness-altering mushrooms ; Poisonous mushrooms ; Growing mushrooms at home ; Dyeing with mushrooms ; Mushrooms and kids -- Chanterelles -- Milk caps and Russulas -- Miscellaneous light-spored gilled mushrooms without a ring -- Amanita -- Miscellaneous light-spored gilled mushrooms with a ring -- Agaricus -- Miscellaneous dark-spored gilled mushrooms -- Boletes -- Polypores -- Teeth fungi -- Coral and club fungi -- Puffballs and earthstars -- Morels and false morels -- Other mushrooms -- Toward a mushroom hunting ethic -- Checklist and index to common names -- Index to scientific names -- Photo credits and acknowledgments. **An illustrated guide to identifying 200 Western mushrooms - whether edible, poisonous, or medicinal - by their key features.** "In leafing through these pages, you may wonder what all the 'fanciful,' 'foolish,' or (shudder) 'extraneous' material is doing in a factual guide. After all, it is the practical, hands-on, how-to-identify information that makes this book useful and gives it substance. But I ask: is it any stranger or less desirable to sprinkle the facts with flakes of fancy than it is to liven up solemn, substantial fare like potatoes with something fancier and more flavorful, like wild mushrooms?" - David Arora "Mushrooms appeal to all kinds of people ...and so will this handy pocket guide. Over 200 edible and poisonous mushrooms are depicted with simple checklists of their identifying features, as author David Arora celebrates the fun in fungi with the same engaging blend of wit and wisdom, fact and fancy, that has made his comprehensive guide, Mushrooms Demystified, the mushroom hunter's bible." -- back cover

two Hundred Distinctive Western Mushrooms Are Portrayed In Full-color Natural Habitat Photographs, Accompanied On The Same Page By Concise, Easy-to-read Lists Of Their Key Identifying Features, And Where To Find Them.