Astounding Mushrooms - Paperback

by Jaroslav Maly (Photographer), Alain Bellocq (Author)

"Beautiful ... we're given a glimpse into the wild world of mushrooms that exists like another realm beneath our feet. With over one million species of mushrooms said to exist worldwide, this book shows us some of the world's most diverse.... There is much in nature that goes unnoticed on a leisurely afternoon trek of the woods. Astounding Mushrooms inspires us to explore with new vision. You won't wander the same way after reading."
-- Ontario Nature Blog

A heartfelt appreciation of the beauty and diversity of fungi.

Astounding Mushrooms features gorgeous full-color photographs of more than 200 mushroom species in their wild habitats. The close-up images reveal every size of growth, every shade of color, every shadow of silhouette and every detail of texture. Chapter text sheds light on this unique living species, neither animal nor plant. Concise captions identify the mushrooms and provide further description of their biology.

As Astounding Mushrooms reveals, mushrooms are astonishingly diverse. Shapes include buttons, nests, fans, feet, clubs, hooves, trumpets, mesh, tentacles, stars, tubes and spines. Textures are smooth, shiny or pimpled. They can be dry or wet, edible or deadly. Nuanced colors and blushes include yellows, reds, blues and greens. They may be speckled, stinky, slimy, hairy or fuzzy. Some wear a hat, some a "skirt", and some can even move.

Wild mushrooms are enjoyed by an increasing number of locavores, vegans and wild food enthusiasts. Chefs everywhere are foraging wild foods, including mushrooms. Mushroom hunting tours have become popular, and mycolophiles are sharing their enthusiasm and identification tips online.

Astounding Mushrooms invites readers into the extraordinary fungi universe.

Author Biography

Alain Bellocq is a mycologist specializing in the study of the Inocybe genre. Bellocq trained with Marcel Bon, a mycologist of worldwide reputation. He is president of the Association Mycologique de l'Ouest de la France and secretary of the Observatoire Mycologique.

Jaroslav Maly is a mycologist and member of the Czech Mycology Society. He created a mycologist club near Prague in Melnik, where he lives today. His photographs are published regularly in journals and books.