Book excerpt: Wandering the woods in search of mushrooms is one of life’s great pleasures. But be careful to pick the right ones! With Edible Mushrooms in your backpack, you’ll know to pick only the safest, most delicious chanterelles, truffles, morels, and more. Author Barbro Forsberg presents forty edible species, and reveals how, when, and where to find them—knowledge gained over the course of four decades spent mushrooming in the woods. Discover such aspects of mushrooming as: • Characteristics of edible mushrooms, per species • Cooking, cleaning, and drying the day’s bounty • Edible, inedible, or toxic? Photographs and descriptions for what to pick and what to avoid • Poisonous varieties and how to recognize them All content has been verified by a professional mycologist. Plus, nature and educational photographs illustrate how mushrooms grow, the environments where you can expect to find them, and the ways in which the same species may vary from one sample to the next. So whether you’re an experienced mushroom hunter or a novice to the art, with Edible Mushrooms you can confidently recognize, pick, and eat the tastiest wild mushrooms.