• Morchella snyderi from California. Photo: Richard Morrison
Mushroom links
Mushroom ID:

MycoMatch, built for Pacific Northwest funga, is a terrific up-to-date online key, now available for your phone! iNaturalist helps you do citizen science with mushrooms.
Other ID sites
Pantone color chart of mushroom spore colors, created by Dr. Fred Rhoades
Keys to Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest, by the Pacific Northwest Key Council
Mushrooms Commonly Found in NW Washington, Dr. Fred Rhoades’ list
North American Mycological Association, NAMA Journal and newsletters
Oregon State University Mycological Collection
Tom Volk’s Site (his was the first on the Internet!)
Mycoweb
Other links (UPDATED), courtesy Vanmyco

Collecting mushrooms:

Spore color is a key characteristic for identifying any mushroom: a small piece of light-weight paper, placed under a mushroom cap in the basket upon collection or at home, is hugely helpful. See collection guidelines for other hints and tips to getting your mushrooms home safe and sound. Rules and regulations around wild mushroom collection, for noncommercial and commercial uses, varies considerably by location. Here are the Washington State Personal Use Mushroom Harvesting Rules for 2016. If you collect on public land, double-check with the local agency office or ranger station to make sure these are current. If you collect on private land, be sure to get permission from the land owner.

Some species are restricted from collecting, to conserve them. These are mostly uncommonly found and rare species. Scroll down to “Species Restrictions” at the PSMS site to learn more. Help protect fungi! Visit the Fungal Diversity Survey.

Opportunities:

How about becoming a mushroom chef? Today’s up-and-coming careers in the culinary arts include knowledge of mycology, identification, cooking, and edibility.

Mushroom publications:

Mushroom the Journal
Fungi Magazine

Regional mushroom clubs:

Northwest Mushroomers Association (NMA)
Puget Sound Mycological Society (PSMS)
Kitsap Peninsula Mycological Society (KPMS)
Olympic Peninsula Mycological Society (OPMS)
Oregon Mycological Society (OMS)
Snohomish County Mycological Society (SCMS)
South Sound Mushroom Club (SSMC)
S. Vancouver Island Mycological Society (SVIMS)
Vancouver Mycological Society (VMS)
Yakima Valley Mushroom Society (YVMS)

Medicinal mushrooms:

Fungi Health, the medicinal benefits of mushrooms
Wikipedia article with useful links.
Blog, in German, on psychotropic mushrooms. From a thesis by Anne Stephanos.

Poisonings:

Amanita phalloidesGo to about us for more information, and visit the PSMS website. The deadly Amanita phalloides (mycorrhizal with linden trees and others; photo by Buck McAdoo) as of 2016 is now showing up in Whatcom County.

Russian ethnomycology book:

Mushrooms, Russia and History. (Download this rare book for free)

Video links:

The many fun ways to be a fungus
Fungus canon at 180,000 g
From the BBC, watch fungi grow
Time lapse Amanita muscaria

Weather sites:

Western Washington area forecast
Recent WA precipitation (Storm total, National Weather Service)
Recent WA Precipitation (Intellicast)