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Zusatztext “Authoritative! thoughtfully organized! and filled with excellent photos.” — SciTech Book News “Hold on to your hats! mushroom lovers! This beautifully illustrated guide presents descriptions and photographs of 460 of the region’s most conspicuous! distinctive! and ecologically important mushrooms.” — Chuckanut Reader Informationen zum Autor Steve Trudell is affiliate curator in the Burke Museum Herbarium at the University of Washington. He belongs to the Mycological Society of America! North American Mycological Association! and International Mycorrhiza Society. He writes for several mycological publications and frequently serves as foray mycologist and lecturer for mycological societies. Joe Ammirati is professor of biology and teaches mycology and botany at the University of Washington. His research focuses mainly on the classification and evolutionary relationships of the gilled fungi! particularly in the genus Cortinarius ! but also includes mushroom biogeography and co-evolution! mushroom toxicity! and fungal diversity of arctic/alpine! boreal! and subalpine habitats. Joe is the scientific advisor to the Puget Sound Mycological Society and Pacific Northwest Key Council. Klappentext Describes more than 450 species of the region’s most conspicuous! distinctive interesting! and ecologically important mushrooms More than 500 superb color photographs Helpful keys for identification Clear coded layout Covers Oregon! Washington! southern British Columbia! Idaho! and western-most Montana! with an emphasis on the heart of mushroom country: the low- to mid-elevation forest habitats of western Oregon and Washington Essential reference for mushroom enthusiasts! hikers! and naturalists Preface Generally speaking, the Pacific Northwest (PNW) encompasses all of Oregon, Idaho, and Washington, plus portions of northern California, western Montana, southern Alaska, and southern British Columbia (B.C.), Canada. The most characteristic part of the PNW biological region, however, lies north of a line that roughly coincides with the 44th parallel of latitude, extending eastward from Florence to Springfield/Eugene to Bend to Ontario, Oregon, and then through Boise to Idaho Falls, Idaho. The northern limit is in southern B.C. and Alaska at the transition to the boreal forest region. For most people, the PNW evokes images of towering trees festooned with lichens and clubmosses, dripping from the seemingly incessant rain. However, this picture is not complete without an assortment of mushrooms decorating the forest floor for anyone who takes time to look down. Mushrooms, as we broadly define them, represent numerous small to large, conspicuous fungi that have evolved an array of different forms and colors. They occur as decomposers, living on dead organic materials, and as symbionts with plants, animals, and other fungi. Because of these lifestyles, mushrooms play major roles in the functioning of ecosystems where they provide nutrients to trees and other plants, recycle those nutrients by breaking down wood and other plant materials, and cause damage as plant pathogens. Many species have intercontinental distributions across the Northern Hemisphere, others occur at the continental or regional scale, a smaller number are more localized, and some have global distributions. Where fungus species occur today reflects a complex of interactions with other organisms and the physical environment over time. Temperature, moisture, soil, topography, vegetation, and other factors influence where fungi grow, when they produce their fruitbodies, and how their spores are dispersed from one location to another. People from many cultures have long histories of gathering mushrooms for food, medicine, and mind-altering effec...
