Book Review: Amanitas of North America

One can quickly get an idea of the number of species included in this text by skimming through the index. A complete alphabetical listing of the species includes all the pages where the  species in question is mentioned, even if just in passing. The species are organized into subgenera and sections following the usage of Dr. Cornelis Bas with an additional key at the beginning of each section. The usage of sections is one of the most valuable tools when learning to identify amanitas, as these groupings are not simply an artificial tool. Instead, they represent the evolutionary relationships among species, which means that the shared characters within each section begin to demonstrate a broad scientifically significant picture. This will become a most important tool for the novice or the expert.  The species descriptions focus on the macroscopic features but also include spore size and shape, which is required to positively identify a mushroom. The photographs that accompany these descriptions are stunning in quality but also mindful in showing the characters needed for their identification. The descriptions start with general information on the species themselves–habitat, associated trees, even odor and edibility. One fantastic feature is that it also points out the most likely look-alikes, which can confound any fungal forager, and explains how to tell them apart. Special care is taken to point out the dangers of ingesting species of this genus, not only with an important word of caution at the beginning of the book, but also throughout the species descriptions (when pertinent) and in the section dedicated to toxicology.