Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast

Everyone I’ve told about this book has said “that sounds very specific,” and indeed this is a niche book. I don’t live near the redwood coast, but rather on the other side of the country, so this isn’t something I’d be consulting any time soon, if ever. But why I wanted to check out this book, besides being interested in field guides and all things natural history, was that there might be some overlap with mushrooms in the northeast. Certainly there are at least some fungi that are so widely distributed one could find them on opposite coasts. The diversity of fungi is overwhelming, so it’s hard to know where to start. I have a thought, though, that if you want to discover a new species – of any organism – the easiest place to look would be fungi. Then you can name what you find however you’d like. But you have to know what to look for, where to look, and make sure it hasn’t been described already. But back to the book.

When the authors call this a “comprehensive” guide, they mean it. If you are really devoted, you will find everything you need here, or everything that is known so far. The introductory pages, and the text for the rest of the book, is in an incredibly small font, which even for my good eyesight is a challenge. The book is massive, like a phonebook, but heavier. The positive side to the heavy pages though is the excellent quality of the photos, which are truly beautiful – the best part of the book by far. They are all arranged in a way that’s nice to look at and also shows the features needed for identification. Every color and shape you could think of seems to be represented in just these mushrooms in this area, and the browns and greens of plant matter make for a lush background. After the picture, the first thing I see is the edibility, which not surprisingly is unknown for many species. For those that are known to be edible, you still want to approach them at your own risk. I’d like to get to that point eventually, where I can identify and enjoy a wild mushroom, and unless you know a mycologist or hobbyist, a book like “Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast” is the best place to start.

Note: I received a free copy of this title through BloggingForBooks in exchange for an honest review.