Peterson Field Guide To Mushrooms Of North America, Second Edition (Peterson Field Guides)

Beginner-Friendly Forager I’m new to mushroom hunting, and this book made the journey so much more approachable. The clear layout, vivid photos, and practical tips helped me feel confident identifying common species. I especially appreciate the safety notes—very reassuring for a novice! Highly recommended for beginners.

The authors did such a wonderful job of putting this guide together. They tell you exactly how to use it from the start. Their identification system is rock solid, you can't mess it up. (As long as you pay careful attention). The descriptions, and illustrations of the mushrooms are flawless. This is a great guide for both beginners, and more experienced foragers. Great little booklet to have with you if you plan on going out foraging, or if you find mushrooms neat and wish to identify them. I personally bought this guide to help me identify Toad Stools when I go out Four-Wheeling.I only have one very minor complaint. I bought the spiral bound version because I think it will last me longer than a traditional. However, it appears as I thumb through the book; some of the pages are stuck together where they meet at the spiral. I can still read both the pages clearly, I just can't separate the two pages unless I want to risk damaging one, or both pages.I believe this is a five star product, because I bought it for identifying Fungi, and I don't want to sound like a complainer. The pages being stuck is very minor, and does not impede the books ability to help me identify mushrooms. The Guide is great, I will be purchasing more Peterson Field Guides in the future.Happy hunting everyone!

This book is a pretty good reference, there is a sort of flow chart in the beginning that helps you deduce/identify mushrooms that you are not familiar with.

I’m a sucker for field guides with illustrations and this book is the best I’ve come across for fungi. Fantastic detailed drawings of each specimen and great info on where and when they grow, organized by the shape and structure of the mushrooms. I love taking this book in the woods with me to identify what I’m seeing. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in mushrooms!

I rarely sit down and actually read a guide, but I've spent time doing that with this one. The I illustrations are gorgeous, the chart to narrow down possibilities is great, and the information is both useful and, at times, seems a little tongue-in-cheek. And the mushroom names (for a mushroom newbie) are so interesting!

The improvements in the 2nd edition are strongest via the artwork of Vera McKnight. The images are presented in their originally intended format, during the making of the 1st edition Peterson forced Vera to edit her own illustrations to a much lower quality and reproduce some of her artwork even in black & white(something the McKnights did not want to do but the publishers got their way). There are also some nice updates to the scientific names, fresh artwork from other illustrators, and updated information on fungi as a whole.The common names are good but the biggest issue there is the use of the misnomer “false morel”. That is an old common name with a lot of mycophobic baggage and as Gyromitra are becoming better understood the common name “lorchel” needs to be applied instead of false morel.The 2nd edition is missing some of the classic art, style, and taste of a past era presented in the 1st edition but it’s still a good guide.

A good pocket sized version for identification purposes.

Great book if you like mushrooms