Reproduction of the original.

If people knew how many poisonous plants are commonly found in homes and gardens, they'd be shocked. Plants as common as monkshood, castorbean, and oleander are not just dangerous, they're deadly. The North American Guide to Common Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms is a comprehensive, easy-to-use handbook. The book is split into four main categories: mushrooms, wild plants, ornamental and crop plants, and houseplants. Each plant entry includes a clear photograph to aid the task of identification, a description of the plant, notes on where they commonly occur, and a description of their toxic properties. Plants are listed by common name to assist the non-specialist.

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.

Mycologists Alan and Arleen Bessette offer a field guide for the identification of common edible and poisonous mushrooms of New York State. Written for readers interested in the safe collection and consumption of a variety of mushrooms, this book includes identification keys for each species and detailed descriptions of poisonous species. In addition, the book is filled with vivid color photographs. Celebrating the culinary adventure of mushroom gathering, the authors include attractive recipes accompanied by photographs of the recipes' preparation. With concise, accurate, and easy-to-follow descriptions, the book provides a safe and reliable introduction to mushroom gathering.

Mushrooms are among the most intriguing and striking inhabitants of the natural world, as highly regarded for their distinctive flavors and uses in cooking and medicine as for their sometimes strange, often beautiful shapes and forms. Some are medicinal, others poisonous or even lethal. Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms of the World is a well-rounded look at mushrooms, including their cultivation, ethnobotanical uses, and the fascinating roles they play in nature. The authors provide expert advice on how to identify and distinguish between edible and poisonous wild mushrooms and how to record important details, with suggestions for taking photographs and preparing spore prints. This book is only available through print on demand. All interior art is black and white.