Peter Roberts

Shelley Evans

Fungi are an indispensable part of the great chain of life: more than 90% of the world’s plant species depend on them for their nutrition. There are believed to be about 1.5 million species, thriving in virtually every habitat, from temperate to tropical, Antarctic to marine. Using beautifully coloured illustrations, this book dips into the whole range, showcasing the unusual, the familiar, the poisonous and the delicious, and sharing the stories of puffballs, deadly webcaps and devils’ fingers, among others. Some are cultivated for use in different cuisines, while others are heralded for their hallucinogenic properties, or valued for use in medicine. Essential information on distribution, uses and growth partnerships is included for each species featured. Get to know what makes mushrooms magic in this handy, colourful book.

A Species Guide

Fungi

The fifth order of the natural kingdom is made up of an estimated 1.5 million species of fungi, found in every habitat type worldwide. The Book of Fungi takes 600 of the most remarkable fleshy fungi from around the world and reproduces each at its actual size, in full colour, and accompanied by a scientific explanation of its distribution, habitat, association, abundance, growth form, spore colour and edibility. Location maps give at-a-glance indications of each species known global distribution, and specially commissioned engravings show different fruitbody forms and provide the vital statistics of height and diameter. Theres a place, too, for readers to discover the more bizarre habits of fungi from the predator that hunts its prey with lassos to the one that entices sows by releasing the pheromones of a wild boar. Mushrooms, morels, puffballs, toadstools, truffles, chanterelles fungi from habitats spanning the poles and the tropics, from the highest mountains to our own gardens are all on display in this definitive work.

Shelley Evans

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