Collins Fungi Guide: The most complete field guide to the mushrooms and toadstools of Britain & Ireland

Product Information

Apply a few drops of a fresh aqueous solution of 10 per cent (weight: volume) ferric chloride or ferric sulphate to the stem and observe any colour change. If it is possible to obtain a large crystal of ferric sulphate, this can be rubbed directly on the stem and so used for rapid identification of certain species of Russula in the field. It can be kept fresh when not in use by placing it in a corked tube containing a wad of cotton wool moistened with dilute ammonium sulphate. Nearly 2,400 species are illustrated in full colour, with detailed notes on how to correctly identify them, including details of similar, confusing species. Other stem features have manifestations on the stem and, to some extent, on the cap too; these are the presence or absence of veils – more or less filmy sheets of tissue produced on the fruit bodies of some agaric species. They are of two types, partial veils and universal veils. A partial veil covers the gills of an agaric fruit body as it emerges from the substrate, stretching from the cap edge to the stem. As the cap grows and expands, this veil tears in one of two main ways. An arachnoid (spider or cobweb-like) veil splits radially leaving fibrils on the cap edge and sometimes adhering across the gills too. By contrast, a membranous veil tears concentrically around the cap, sometimes leaving flaps of tissue conspicuously on the cap edge and more importantly a ring of tissue (called the ring) on the stem itself. In many fungi the ring is barely detectable but in others it forms a very obvious feature, important in identification. The ring may take several forms; if it joins only loosely to the stem, it is called movable, if more tightly adhering, attached. If it is on the upper part of the stem, a ring is called superior; if on the lower half, inferior; a ring with a cotton wool-like roll of tissue on the underside is referred to as double. Sometimes there is no proper ring, only a ring-zone or slightly rougher tissue and contrasting colour on the stem.

Collins fungi guide : the most complete field guide to the

A few types of Basidiomycete such as the jelly-like members of the family Dacrymycetaceae do not dry satisfactorily, and although they can be preserved in alcohol, formaldehyde or other liquid, the results are not very satisfactory. Most types of Ascomycete, apart from a few terrestrial species, are much less fleshy than most large Basidiomycetes and will dry very adequately in the air at room temperature. Identification Although the Law and its interpretation is rather complex, and no prosecutions have yet been brought, it is clear that deliberately and knowingly collecting magic mushrooms is illegal unless you intend immediately to destroy them or pass them to someone who is licensed to hold them. Licences are held by such bodies as the two Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and Edinburgh but are unlikely to be issued to individuals. If you collect magic mushrooms without knowing what they are, it appears you will only commit an offence if you retain them once they have been identified. You will not be committing an offence of possession if magic mushrooms are growing uncultivated on your premises. Shape. Most stems are equal (more or less parallel sided) but some taper either upwards or downwards; most species with rooting stems taper downwards into the ‘root’, while others are markedly club-shaped (clavate) with a highly pronounced taper upwards or even bulbous (with a pronounced swelling at the base like an onion). Some bulbous forms have a marked and rather sharp margin around the upper edge of the bulb; these are called marginate bulbous while those that swell very abruptly at the base are called abruptly bulbous. Stem shape in transverse section should be noted if it is other than circular; some species have markedly flattened or grooved stems for instance, while it is sometimes important to observe if it is solid in section, hollow or stuffed (apparently with a central hollow filled with cottony tissue). Apply a streak across the cap of Agaricus species with a glass rod dipped in pure aniline and cross this with another rod dipped in concentrated nitric acid. A flame red colour at the point of intersection gives Schaeffer +; no red colour gives Schaeffer -. This test has been included in the Guide because it is useful for advanced study in the genus Agaricus, but concentrated nitric acid is an extremely dangerous chemical and the procedure should not be used by inexperienced collectors or those unfamiliar with the practices of laboratory chemistry.

More kinds of macro-fungi are to be found in woodlands than anywhere else and every organised fungal foray will include a visit to at least one. Woodlands offer a rich and continuing nutrient source and a wide range of microhabitats (from the twigs and leaves of tree tops to roots many centimetres below the soil surface), a soil environment reasonably well buffered against extremes of temperature and a fairly moist environment all year. They are conveniently divided into the major categories of coniferous, broadleaved and mixed, with additional habitats provided by the woodland edges and by open, grassy areas or glades within the wood itself. What a great book. It adds a needed publication for the amateur's library which goes beyond other field guides. The illustrations of crust fungi are excellent and it is a pleasure to see them receive their rightful place in a fungal manual. I am sure you will stimulate many to look at the lower Basidiomycetes in a different light and overcome that fear of looking for and at them. Great stuff! [...] A book which should be in lots of naturalists’ hands, not just field mycologists. I would gladly recommend [it] to anyone attending my forays and to my apprentices.’ Fungi are able to exploit most of the natural – and many of the artificial – raw materials of the world as nutrient sources; and to tolerate most of the environmental variables the earth can offer. Of all the natural habitats able to support life of any type, almost all are inhabited by some species of fungi. But whilst many genera of larger fungi certainly occur predominantly in one type of habitat, there are few that are wholly characteristic of individual types of woodland, grassland or other community. Nonetheless, there are certainly some fungal genera, and, more significantly, some associations of genera, that do give each habitat a characteristic mycobiota. Amanita, Lactarius and Russula for instance, which are mycorrhizal associates of trees, are predominantly woodland genera, while Hygrocybe is usually found in grassland. And a species list including Mycena capillaris, Russula fellea, Craterellus cornucopioides and Boletus satanas conjures up an image of a beech wood to a mycologist in much the same way as a list including bramble, dog’s mercury, foxglove, holly and violet helleborine might to a botanist. Woodlands In certain groups, application of one of the following reagents to the cap, stem or hyphae gives a characteristic colour reaction:

Collins Fungi Guide: The Most Complete Field Guide to the

First up is Peter Marren, whose forthcoming book, Mushrooms, is the first in a new series of natural history publications, the British Wildlife Collection Peter Marren’s tips on mushroom identification for the beginner To naturalists who are used to identifying birds and mammals, the study of fungi (rather like the study of some insects and other small creatures, and to a certain extent some plants) requires a rather different approach. This is because relatively few species can be named accurately in the field, other than by the most experienced collectors, and even they almost always find it necessary to collect fruit bodies for close inspection. Most fungi, moreover, require microscopic examination and sometimes simple chemical tests too, either to verify an identification based on superficial characters or, sometimes, to identify them at all. The legality of collecting Firstly, let’s be quite clear: there are an awful lot of fungi! Just including those generally referred to as the larger fungi – those just a few millimetres across all the way up to species that can reach a metre or more – there are around three thousand species recorded in Britain. September is upon us with morning mists and a slight chill in the air… it must be mushroom time! Around this time of year, books on mushroom identification and natural history appear with almost as much certainty as the fungi themselves. Two of our favourite mycologically-minded authors, Peter Marren and Geoffrey Kibby, give some useful and interesting tips for the keen mushroom hunter.Two or three fruit bodies of each species should be adequate for identification, and perhaps five or six if the material is to be preserved as part of a permanent collection. It is unlikely that the time available to the average amateur collector will permit the examination and identification of more than about six or, at the most, ten unknown species from each collecting expedition. To take home more than this is wasteful therefore – especially as the main autumn collecting period lasts only a few weeks during which time perhaps ten trips may be made. The appearance of the gill margin (its lower edge) is especially important in some genera. It may be described as undulating or wavy in the same way as the edge of the cap itself, but quite commonly gills are found that appear toothed or minutely ragged. Sometimes the gill edge is of a different colour to the remainder of the gill whereas overall gill colour, especially the difference between immature and mature gills, is very important in some groups. Surface features of gills are not as important in identification as the surface features of the cap, although in a few groups the relative waxiness or pubescence (minute hairiness, like the surface of a peach) is used as a diagnostic criterion. This guide is destined to be an indispensable authority on the subject for everyone from beginning hobbyists to trained experts, throughout Appalachia and beyond. Always remember that it is far better to identify with certainty ten species and so enrich your fund of knowledge and experience than return home wastefully with fifty or more unknowns, most of which there will never be any prospect of naming.

Collins Fungi Guide by Stefan Buczacki, Chris - Scribd Collins Fungi Guide by Stefan Buczacki, Chris - Scribd

Last week we published a blog post with advice on purchasing a hand lens, plus a useful comparison chart showing the various lenses you can buy from NHBS. Spores and most other features of microscopic interest do retain their form more or less indefinitely and can be examined at leisure after small pieces of dried tissue have been macerated in warm water, Melzer’s reagent ( see here), methylene blue or cotton blue (see here). It should be remembered nonetheless, that for some fungi, such as those in the genera Lactarius and Russula, features like spore print colour, taste and smell are of such importance for identification that accurate naming of dried specimens without detailed notes on the fresh material is often impossible.Some of the woodland habitats discussed already, like birch woodland and alder carr, are essentially wetlands. Other habitats dominated by trees may present fungi with a moist, fairly uniform environment but they must adapt to poor aeration and the possibility of high concentrations of sulphurous gases. These are the conditions of bogs on acidic peaty soils, fens on less acidic peats and marshes on silty soils. Bogs may occur at both high and low altitudes, grading from moorland in the former where rainfall is high and drainage impeded. Fens occur typically in the upper parts of some old river estuaries but in all these habitats, mosses, especially species of Sphagnum, make up important components and it tends to be fungi that grow in close association with mosses that are the most characteristic species. Galerina, Pholiota and Hypholoma are among the genera of small, brownish and often inconspicuous Basidiomycetes found most frequently. Some of them have greatly elongated stems to facilitate spore dispersal clear of the Sphagnum or other vegetation. A very few Basidiomycetes like Arrhenia lobata that grow on and among the bases of rushes, sedges or other herbaceous plants may even be almost entirely aquatic. Dunes and salt marshes urn:lcp:collinsfungiguid0000bucz:epub:b1236f64-bd25-4e36-af35-0bf5592be387 Foldoutcount 0 Identifier collinsfungiguid0000bucz Identifier-ark ark:/13960/s2462h5t8v4 Invoice 1652 Isbn 9780007242900 Many species can only be distinguished with certainty by using a microscope to examine their spores and other microscopic structures, or by the application of specific chemicals to produce colour reactions. More technical monographs are needed for these.

Collins Fungi Guide by Stefan Buczacki, Chris Shields

Collect only specimens in good condition; old or rotten specimens will not make a good meal and can cause serious stomach upsets. Digital Reads A Curse For True Love : the thrilling final book in the Once Upon a Broken Heart series Authoritative text, beautiful photographs and detailed illustrations show the distinguishing features of each mushroom and toadstool, including details of size, habitat and when it can be found, whether it is edible or poisonous and most importantly, which similar species it can be confused with and why. Mycology, or mushrooming, can appeal on many levels, from the simple pleasure of seeing strange and wonderful organisms to the intellectual challenge of trying to identify them and understand their intricate life cycles. But the starting point is, and always will be, a good book! And finally… hand lenses to help with mushroom identification Identification: Has a blue to violet tinged cap and gills when young, however older caps turn tan or grey from the centre. Gills are crowded and grow into the stalk and fade to brown as the mushroom matures. The cap is roughly 5-15 cm across, and the stem 5-10 cm tall.Identification: One of the most iconic toadstools depicted in fairy-tale illustrations. It has a shiny, scarlet red or orange cap with white wart-like spots dotted across. Cap is 8-20 cm across. The gills are white and free, and the stem is swollen with rings of scales. Identification: Initially cup-shaped and smoothed, the fruiting body develops lobes in the shape of a wrinkled human ear. Soft, gelatinous and a date-brown colour, but when it dries it is much smaller, darker and harder. Upper surface is velvety, and is attached laterally by a small stalk. Up to 8cm across. Fungi are not related to plants or animals because they differ from them in many important ways. Whereas the basic structural elements of plants and animals are cells which, en masse, form tissues, fungi are built up of uniquely different microscopic tubular thread-like bodies with multiple nuclei called hyphae; and collectively hyphae form, not tissue, but mycelium (although the word ‘cell’ is used widely in relation to small fungal structures that look like cells). The reproduction of fungi also differs greatly from plants in that they produce, not seeds, but microscopic structures called spores. Spread throughout this book are hand-drawn illustrations and full-color photographs of every mushroom you can imagine.