Identifying Wild Mushrooms: A Beginners Checklist

You don't need to become a mycologist to enjoy this hobby. With each mushroom presented in this guide, you will find a checklist. Gather several examples of your find to check against the list...button (tightly closed) to fully fruiting. The words used in the checklists are not technical and a only few mushrooms require one special skill...collecting a spore print. Some checklists call for a spore print to determine the color of the spore of the species. This is essential to identifying...especially mushrooms with gills. Words usually not familiar to the beginner, will come with a simple definition. If you can distinguish a cap from a stem and tell if it has gills or not (multiple blade-like tissue on the underside of the cap), you are on your way.