Message from Dianna Smith (2003-2016) / Peter Russell (2012-2013)
The gallery photos and accompanying comments on this site are my own, an amateur student of mycology since October of 2001. My principaI mentor has been Gary Lincoff, but I also am learning mycology from other dedicated amateur mycologists. I created this site to present another way, other than SCAPES, my educational television series for community cable, to share my love of mycology with others. Many of my photos have been published on various mushroom websites other than this one, as well as in Michael Kuo's book, "100 Edible Mushrooms," and the recently published "The Complete Mushroom Hunter' by Gary Lincoff. About 100 are in the newly revised Green Mt. Digital application of the 'Audubon Guide to Mushrooms of North America." Some of my photos have also won awards in the North American Mycological Association's annual photo contest. (Www.namyco.org). Most recently a photo of Russula variata was awarded first place in the Judge's Option category.
The comments associated with each photo are based on study of a variety of reliable sources ranging from Gary Lincoff's The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms to University of Wisconson Professor Tom Volk's Mushroom of the Month website. Another terrific website which delves more deeply into identification of various mushroom species that I like very much and consult regularly is Michael Kuo's invention, www.MushroomExpert.com. My notes, however, are not intended to be comprehensive. I merely want to share with others my photos and personal insights for identifying particular species.
If you are interested in pursuing the study of fungi as a result of seeing some of these photos, then join a local mushroom club and check out some of the many field guides available. Another publication I highly recommend is a quarterly magazine called MUSHROOM,the Jounal. In it you will find great articles, photos, drawings, recipes, book reviews, puzzles and information on forays throughout the country. To become a subscriber contact editor Leon Shernoff at leon@mushroomthejournal.com.
For help in finding a club near you, go to the North American Mycology Association (NAMA) website at www.namyco.org. If you live in the Westchester, N.Y./Connecticut area, where I lived until November of 2012, join the Connecticut-Westchester Mycological Association (COMA)! You can find out more about it at www.comafungi.org. If you live in western MA, join the Pioneer Valley Mycological Association, a new club I started in 2013. For information on membership go to my mushroom education website www.fungikingdom.net.
I also invite you to add your own instructive observations and critiques, so that the commentary becomes more informative and helpful to other inexperienced students like myself. Please visit pbase.com/comafungi often to keep up with the beautiful fungi we discover on forays into our woods!
Dianna Smith
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