2w ago

Best offline resource for mushroom identification?

I've recently realized I really enjoy searching for mushrooms on hikes. Been doing it for a few weeks now and have seen dozens of different kinds of mushrooms, it's been amazing! But a lot of the areas I'm in have no cell reception and am not able to upload photos to inaturalist for identification. Is there an offline app or should get some books on mushroom identification? Also is inaturalist the best app for online identification, and is a topside and underside image enough for an accurate identification?

4 comments

lol, the main way I identify mushrooms is with books - I don't know any serious mushroom people that use apps, it's all about taxonomic keys and using books to identify.
This is region specific - but look for identification guides for your region: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_about_mushrooms
In North America I highly recommend Alan Bessette's books if you are serious about this.
You should find a local mycology club and join them - they will know what books to get for that region.
- Thank you I will check out Alan Bessettes booms. Appreciate the help
All That The Rain Promises is a fun and accessible book to start with.
It depends on the mushroom. Some are easy to identify, while others may require a spore print and/or microscope. Mushrooms Demystified is a good book for the west coast of the US. It’s heavy on text and not on photos so you will need to study a lot to use it well. It’s also not a field guide.