People love mushrooms. They want to pick them and eat them. but when they get home and try to check them, the fears crowd in. The reference books are vague. Too many dangerous look-alikes. Is the colour in that photograph exaggerated? A field mushroom suddenly seems worryingly like a Destroying Angel....the mushrooms are all discarded.Here is a mushrooming guide with a totally new, positive approach. Forget all the other 500 species. You only need to know these twelve. And you need to know them fully, without a shadow of a doubt.Alex Schwab's mushrooming rules are few but they are fixed rules. His key identification points leave no room for uncertainty. And he promises you these mushrooms will all taste delicious.Mushrooming without fear for the first time.

 How to use this guide  8 The mushrooming without fear method  9 What does 'edible' mean? Learn to leave a mushroom Look-alike poisonous species The tools of the trade Worm-infested mushrooms Cutting or pulling? Raw mushroomsWhat is a mushroom?   12 Tubes, spines, ridges and gills  15 Tubes  16 Spines  17 Ridges  18 Gills.  20Comparing ridges and gills  24 Mushrooming without Fear Mushrooms with tubes  29 Cep or Penny Bun Bolete  30 Red Cracked Bolete  34 Dotted Stemmed Bolete  38 Larch Bolete 44 Slippery Jack   48 Bay Bolete  52 Birch Bolete  58Mushrooms with ridges  63 Chanterelle  64 Trumpet Chanterelle  68Mushrooms with spines  73 Hedgehog Fungus  74Mavericks  79 Morel  80 Common Puffball  88 Hen of the Woods  92 Horn of Plenty  96 Cauliflower Mushroom  100For those who want to know more about mushroomswith gills Mushrooms with gills  109 Field Mushroom  110 Wood Blewit  116 Shaggy Ink Cap  120 Parasol  124 Shaggy Parasol  130 Oyster Mushroom  134 St George's Mushroom  138 Charcoal Burner  142 Amethyst Deceiver  148Background Trees and mushrooms  152 The mushrooming season  154 Handling, storage and cooking  154 Fascinating folklore  157 Index  159