First Steps in Mushroom Identification, a reprint of Archie McAdam's book for beginners, Keys to the British Genera of Agarics and Boleti

Vol 13 (4) Clarification was also added where the same taxon had been included on a number of assessments but where different names had been used. For example, Boletopsis leucomelaena was red-listed (Ing 1992; Evans et al. 2006) but was added to BAP in 2007 named as B. perplexa following molecular studies on Scottish material and exclusion of B. leucomelaena from the British list (CBIB UD2). A further example is provided by Thuemenidium atropurpureum which was initially red-listed (Ing 1992) but then listed in Evans et al. (2006) and on BAP (post-2007) under the currently accepted name Geoglossum atropurpureum pending ongoing molecular studies.

References and websites CBIB: Checklist of the British & Irish Basidiomycota http://www.basidiochecklist.info/index.htm Evans SE, Henrici A, Ing B, 2006. Preliminary Assessment: The red data list of threatened British fungi. http://www.fieldmycology.net/Download/ RDL_of_Threatened_British_Fungi.pdf FRDBI: Fungus records database of Britain and Ireland. http://www.fieldmycology.net/ Ing B, 1992. A provisional red data list of British fungi. Mycologist 6(3): 124–12.

Acknowledgements Thanks to Paul Kirk for supplying a ‘snapshot’ of the relevant conservation status data on 23 February 2012 and for uploading the required edits and updates.

doi:10.1016/j.fldmyc.2012.10.007

First Steps in Mushroom Identification, a reprint

number in each publication where a genus is described.

of Archie McAdam’s book for beginners, Keys to

The features which make each genus unique are

the British Genera of Agarics and Boleti

emphasised as the genus occurs in the book. Currently concepts of genera are changing rapidly as knowledge

If you want to name every toadstool that you collect on a

grows. This book is based on traditional genus concepts

foray you must start with the genus. Here is a way to

derived from spore print colour and gill attachment as

get to know the genera found in Britain. Many of these

described by Singer and Largent in their publications,

genera are also found in the North of America and

so it gives an approachable method of identifying the

Europe, so the book can be useful there too.

genus of a mushroom.

Genus concepts in Funga

Simple keys are given to the genera of fleshy

Nordica have been taken into account so the book is up-

mushrooms with gills and with pores. Mushrooms with

to-date till the next round of changes takes effect, and it

caps and stems are included even if the stems are

can be updated by purchasers as their knowledge grows.

attached to the edge rather than in the centre of the cap. However this book is much more than just a collec-

Archie McAdam

tion of keys to genera. The introduction helps the beginner to get started by describing a way to do it, referring to useful websites and published material. Then, after the keys of the book itself, there is a key to Galerina, updating the key in British Fungus Flora, Volume 7, and a key to the modern concepts of what was called Coprinus. A Glossary explains all the unfamiliar terms used in the book and a Guide to the Literature helps beginners to find good keys in other books to take them to the species in a genus. Finally there is an index to the

doi:10.1016/j.fldmyc.2012.10.008

genera in 10 useful publications, giving the page

132