The second most expensive food in the world after saffron, truffles are treasured, coveted, and savored for their mysterious and exotic flavor. This complete field guide shows chefs and fungi aficionados how to forage for and identify the wide variety of truffles that grow in temperate forests throughout North America. Written by expert horticulturalists who have studied, classified, and enjoyed truffles for decades, the FIELD GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN TRUFFLES makes these celebrated underground jewels accessible to all. • The first full-color illustrated guide to identifying North American truffles by their key features, including profiles of more than 80 species of truffles. • Includes more than 80 photographs of rare and hard-to-find truffle species. • Features flavor profiles, delectability index, and culinary tips for each species. • Perfect size for carrying in a pocket or daypack. Reviews"It's the first book of its kind, complete with photographs, cross-sectional views of indigenous truffle varieties, guides to seasonal availability, and foraging tips for hundreds of kinds of truffles (both the edible and inedible kinds), as well as tasting notes and cooking tips." —Saveur

The second most expensive food in the world after saffron, truffles are treasured, coveted, and savored for their mysterious and exotic flavor. This complete field guide shows chefs and fungi aficionados how to forage for and identify the wide variety of truffles that grow in temperate forests throughout North America. Written by expert horticulturalists who have studied, classified, and enjoyed truffles for decades, the FIELD GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN TRUFFLES makes these celebrated underground jewels accessible to all. • The first full-color illustrated guide to identifying North American truffles by their key features, including profiles of more than 80 species of truffles. • Includes more than 80 photographs of rare and hard-to-find truffle species. • Features flavor profiles, delectability index, and culinary tips for each species. • Perfect size for carrying in a pocket or daypack. Reviews"It's the first book of its kind, complete with photographs, cross-sectional views of indigenous truffle varieties, guides to seasonal availability, and foraging tips for hundreds of kinds of truffles (both the edible and inedible kinds), as well as tasting notes and cooking tips." —Saveur

Whether the world's best truffles are found in Piedmont or Perigord inspires impassioned debate, but the effects of dwindling supply and insatiable demand for the elusive, ultimate mushroom are unquestionable: prices through the roof, intrigue and deception, and ever more intensive efforts to cultivate. The secrets of when, how, and where to collect truffles have benn passed from generation to generation since ancient times, but artificial cultivation remains the holy grail. Here in the most comprehensive practical treatment of the gastronomic treasure to date, the art and science of the high-stakes pursuit come together. Their enthusiasm and expertise leavened with wry humor, the authors explore the newest techniques; they describe the commercial species in detail along with their host plants, natural habitats, cultivation and mintenance, pests and diseases, and harvesting with pigs, dogs, truffle flies, and even the electronic nose. Pursuit of the fungus that costs more than gold is not for the faint of heart nor for those in a hurry, as under ideal conditions, truffle production in artificial truffieres can begin after three years but results may not be seen until a decade after planting, and maximum yields not for another decade still. So there is time to read and prepare, and no better source than this one.

A new approach to identifying mushrooms based on five key features that can be observed while in the field. Toadstools, truffles, boletes and morels, witches' butter, conks, corals, puffballs and earthstars: mushrooms are both mysterious and ecologically essential. They can also be either delicious or deadly. Thousands of different species of mushrooms appear across North America in the woods, backyards, and in unexpected corners. Learning to distinguish them is a rewarding challenge for a naturalist or chef. Covering most of the common edible and poisonous species readers are likely to encounter, this portable-sized field guide takes a new, simple approach to the method of mushroom identification based on key features that do not require a microscope or technical vocabulary. In addition to the watercolors from the original edition, hundreds more illustrations have been added. These paintings make use of the limited space available in a field guide and focus on the distinguishing details of each species, thereby serving as an ideal tool for beginner and intermediate mycologists alike.

Amateur mushroom collectors and mycologists alike will find over 300 species of the region's most distinctive and ecologically important mushrooms profiled in this comprehensive field guide.

This publication makes a compelling case that in order to develop sustainable ecosystem policies, we must first understand the complexity and interdependency of species and habitats. Comparing forests in the Pacific Northwestern United States and Southeastern mainland of Australia, the authors show how easily observable species - trees and mammals - are part of an infrastructure that includes fungi, lichens and organisms invisible to the naked eye, such as microbes. This important book shows that forests are far more complicated than most of us might think, which means simplistic policies will not save them. Understanding the biophysical intricacies of our life support systems just might.

The American Southwest is not usually thought of as a habitat for mushrooms, yet its various life zones are home to a surprising number of fungi and related species. This first book on the region's mushrooms and truffles provides descriptions and color illustrations for 156 major species and additional descriptive references for 155 more. Also included are selected slime molds and lichens, which, like truffles, usually are not covered in mushroom guides at all. The book's range is Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, and northern Mexico. It is designed to help fungiphiles not only identify mushrooms but also find them. The author describes the life zones where fungi can be found in association with characteristic plant communities and provides maps--with major landmarks indicated--designating conifer forests on public land where mushrooms are most often found. The major classifications covered are Club Fungi (Basidiomycetes), Stomach Fungi (Gasteromycetes), Sac Fungi (Ascomycetes), and Tuberlike Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes. A special feature of the guide is the provision of cross references to other field guides, reinforcing the need to confirm identification before consuming mushrooms. Notations on toxicity and edibility are provided.