Fungipedia: A Brief Compendium of Mushroom Lore

by Lawrence Millman, Amy Jean Porter (Illustrator)

This little book is big fun.--Michael Pollan

An illustrated mini-encyclopedia of fungal lore, from John Cage and Terence McKenna to mushroom sex and fairy rings

Fungipedia presents a delightful A-Z treasury of mushroom lore. With more than 180 entries--on topics as varied as Alice in Wonderland, chestnut blight, medicinal mushrooms, poisonings, Santa Claus, and waxy caps--this collection will transport both general readers and specialists into the remarkable universe of fungi.

Combining ecological, ethnographic, historical, and contemporary knowledge, author and mycologist Lawrence Millman discusses how mushrooms are much more closely related to humans than to plants, how they engage in sex, how insects farm them, and how certain species happily dine on leftover radiation, cockroach antennae, and dung. He explores the lives of individuals like African American scientist George Washington Carver, who specialized in crop diseases caused by fungi; Beatrix Potter, creator of Peter Rabbit, who was prevented from becoming a professional mycologist because she was a woman; and Gordon Wasson, a J. P. Morgan vice-president who almost single-handedly introduced the world to magic mushrooms. Millman considers why fungi are among the most significant organisms on our planet and how they are currently being affected by destructive human behavior, including climate change.

With charming drawings by artist and illustrator Amy Jean Porter, Fungipedia offers a treasure trove of scientific and cultural information. The world of mushrooms lies right at your door--be amazed!-- "IMA Fungus"

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Science, History, Biology, Reference, Cultural

200 pages, Hardcover

First published October 29, 2019

About the author

I've written 16 books, including such titles as Last Places, Our Like Will Not Be There Again, A Kayak Full of Ghosts, Hero Jesse, and Fascinating Fungi of New England. I've also explored remote areas in East Greenland and the Canadian Arctic. I'm a Fellow of the prestigious Explorers Club and, in my mycological capacity, past president of the A.S.S. (American Stinkhorn Society).

And here's the most recent news: In January 2017, St. Martin's will be publishing my latest book, At the End of the World: A True Story of Murder in the Arctic. Not only does the book detail a series of murders in the name of religion in 1941 among the (surprise!) Inuit, but also it discusses how digital technology is turning our species into robots.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Know what kind of mushroom you're picking up here.

It's a brief, breezy overview of ALL mushrooms! Best of all, even if all the mushrooms in the book aren't edible, the book itself is quite tasty. It might give you a few hallucinations, however, of their sex lives (some have 26 ways to procreate!) or having that little reminder that you have some on your eyelashes or in your beer or bread or that we have dozens in our gut or that public parks often have a much greater variety of mushrooms than regular forests.

They get around, man. And woman. We're all big, ripe, fruiting spore colonies, yo!

Now, while this book is more of a quick, fun sampler, it DOES manage to whet my appetite to learn more about our worldwide mycelium network.

And, fun fact, Paul Stammetz is a REAL EXPERT on mushrooms in real life, for all you folks who are ongoing fans of Star Trek Discovery. :)

[Olive Fellows (abookolive) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Click here to hear my thoughts on this book over on my Booktube channel, abookolive.


A cute little book containing entries about the world of fungi and mushrooms - everything from notable people in the field to specific types of mushrooms. It's not necessarily the best introduction to the world of fungi, but it's a great sampling and very fun to read!

[Tucker Almengor]

Many thanks to Tantor Audio for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review


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[Rio Miras · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Given the similarities between fungi and our species, it’s not surprising that we relate to fungi differently from the way we relate to plants. They inspire in us phobic reactions, total delight, anthropomorphic thoughts (in Russian, an old person is called a starry grib— a dried-up mushroom), fictional monsters, postage stamps, disgust (the Greek physician Nicander called fungi “the evil ferment of the earth”), and— as in the case of the Mazatec curandera Maria Sabina, who called magic mushrooms “children of God”— deification."

Siempre he dicho que si no me hubiera dedicado a la traducción habría sido feliz siendo micóloga. Un reciente trabajo me ha hecho desempolvar mi afición por los hongos y esta ha sido una breve y divertida lectura sobre datos interesantes (requisitos del hábitat, especies, entusiestas micólogos, folclore) y novedades sobre este mundo. El libro está estructurado como una enciclopedia, con entradas muy breves y datos divertidos contados con voz humorística, y además está plagado de dibujos preciosos. Es una buena manera de introducirte al mundo de los hongos.

[Emiline · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was given to me as a gift when my interest in mushrooms and fungi first sparked more into an academic hobby of sorts. i enjoyed every moment of this book, and am anxious to admit that my enjoyment of it forced my reading to span over a decent couple of months. once i got over this need to ensure i’m taking in every single word and understanding every description, i fell into more of the magic of the book, and the bliss of understanding that some things are hard to make sense of. my motto became don’t overthink it, just enjoy it. i will never stop learning about fungi, and this was, and is, a lovely book to satiate anyone’s curiosity, for a time ;)

loved ones who nurture your wonder and passions should be cherished, and this book has become an example of that for me. my rating may be slightly biased due to this sentiment.

[Lina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is indeed interesting, comprehensive enough, and funny where it's reasonable. However, the structure of the encyclopedia does not work. It should be like a manual of fungi, not dictionary of select terms. It's difficult to digest information on a complicated scientific subject without a structure. (Alphabet does not constitute a reasonable structure, it's arbitrary.)

And I do not recommend to listen to the audiobook version like I did. Trying to remember stuff which would illustrate it is just ridiculous. And if you don't know enough, you'd better be searching the web for pictures, which by all reason should be already provided alongside the text, i.e. it should be a book.

[Cav · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Given the similarities between fungi and our species, it’s not surprising that we relate to fungi differently from the way we relate to plants. They inspire in us phobic reactions, total delight, anthropomorphic thoughts (in Russian, an old person is called a starry grib— a dried-up mushroom), fictional monsters, postage stamps, disgust (the Greek physician Nicander called fungi “the evil ferment of the earth”), and— as in the case of the Mazatec curandera Maria Sabina, who called magic mushrooms “children of God”— deification."

Despite being excited to start this one, it ultimately fell far short of my expectations...

Author Lawrence Millman is an adventure travel writer and mycologist from Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is the author of eighteen books, including Goodbye, Ice: Arctic Poems, and Fascinating Fungi of New England.

Lawrence Millman:


Mycology is a super-interesting burgeoning field. I will read just about any book I can find on the topic, so I put this one on my list as soon as I came across it.

The formatting of this book is a bit unorthodox, and not at all what I was expecting... Millman opens the book with a decent introduction, but then the rest of the book proceeds to detail many different types of fungi in an alphabetic manner. This has the effect of making the book feel like an encyclopedia, and not a book with a story to tell.

The book also suffers from a pronounced lack of accompanying pictures. To be honest, this pretty much completely ruined the book for me. Millman rattles off many various species of fungi to the naive reader, with no actual pictures, or other contextual visual information. The book does include some hand-drawn renderings, but they are both too few, and not detailed enough to be of much use...

In a field of study where misidentifications are commonplace, this glaring lack of actual pictures is an enormous oversight. I can't imagine what the author (and publishers) were thinking here, especially considering that this book was published in 2019, so it's not like it pre-dated the practice of including colour pics in books.
The average reader is likely to get more useful information from a half-hour YouTube video, like this one, than from this book. Terrible...

**************************

Although there was some interesting info presented here, the overall formatting of this one left much to be desired for me...
Too bad, as books about fungi and mycology are not easy to come by.
2 stars.

[xavuth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really enjoyed this book. It was informative and a page turner, and i learned a lot about mushrooms, other fungi and their evolution. It made me a lot more excited (if even possible) to study them in school. I also loved the inclusion of various mushroom lore stories, and figures important to mycology and psychedelia through the ages. I am excited to keep learning about these amazing creatures ! It isnt an academic book really, but for something catered to a general audience it incudes a lot of phylogenetic information and nomenclature that was cool to be exposed to, albeit i retained none.

[Eric Trotman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent encyclopedic book, especially for how compact it is. Loaded with intriguing facts and history, this little book packs a huge punch, and the author’s writing style is humorous and witty.
A lot of fun, this. One to keep returning to for the wealth of fungal knowledge therein.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a quirky collection of information about mushrooms. Really enjoyed getting to learn more about a topic that fascinates me. Strongly suggest for people that are interested in learning more but that aren't super well versed in Mycology yet.

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, enjoyable little look at various fungi and mycologists with simple illustrations scattered throughout. The book is structured like an encyclopedia, with very brief entries and fun facts told in a humorous voice. Shoutout to the split gill mushroom with over 20,000 genders for real.

[Maddie Drallmeier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun casual read for interesting facts and tid bits on fungi. Nice way to introduce yourself to the world of fungi, but maybe not the right book if you are more interested in in-depth biology, ecology, or mycology.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked just receiving information on fungi that I never considered before, but that's what it mostly was, information with a sprinkle of funny asides from the author. I enjoyed it though. Doubtful I will remember a whole lot but I know some fungi basics!

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little fungi fact book. Learned some new things, strengthened some old things. My only wish is that it would have more illustrations.

[Jake Gideon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love mushrooms

[Angharad · Rating 5 out of 5]

it mentions slime moulds so it immediately gets 5 stars

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arranged like an encyclopedia, Fungipedia has short articles on everything from famous mycologists to kinds of fungi, and even an entry under “Smell” – did you know that chanterelles smell like peaches or apricots and that Mycena alcalina smells like Clorox? Under “Common Name” Millman points out that, while fungi have both scientific (Latin) names and common names, the “common names like stinky squid, angel’s wings, earth tongue, jelly baby, jack-o’-lantern, artist’s conk, hedgehog, inky cap, dead man’s fingers and witches butter provide reasonably accurate descriptions of what the fungi in question look like” and are certainly memorable. As is the 2011 discovery of Spongiforma squarepantsii named for SpongeBob SquarePants.

Did you know that composer John Cage was a very good amateur mycologist who taught a course in mushroom identification at the New School in NYC? I also loved ethnomycologist Gordon Wasson’s entry. He and his friends “kindled the global interest in magic mushrooms” in the 1950s and 60s. It so happens that I have a bookplate of Gordon Wasson’s – which is graced by a lovely line drawing of his favorite fungi, Amanita muscaria – see Millman’s entry under Fly Agaric. (See also, Berserker Mushroom; see also, Santa Claus). I started off dipping around Fungipedia, flipping the pages, going from one fascinating nugget to another. But I ended up reading it straight through, from Agarikon to Zygomycetes. It doesn’t disappoint, and is only 184 pages, so it’s a perfect commuter book. Then I went to
Lawrence Millman's website to learn more about him. Worth a visit, read about why he dropped out of the Explorers Club.
Highly recommended.

[Jennifer]

I picked this ARC up at Book Expo 2019 and decided to read it as part of a unit on mushrooms along with "The Way Through the Woods: Of Mushrooms and Mourning" by Long Litt Woon and "The Truffle Underground" by Ryan Jacobs. After finishing the other two books, I decided to DNF this book because the word lore in the title really isn't an accurate description. I was expecting a broad overview of mushrooms in folklore and literature whereas Fungipedia really gets down into the weeds by instead giving brief descriptions of various types of mushrooms and important mycologists. If you are looking for a quick-dip resource guide, however, then this book would likely be appropriate.

[Jocelyn Gocek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lawrence Millman’s Fungipedia: A Brief Compendium of Mushroom Lore is a reference work for fungi of all shapes and forms that takes a brief look at several different types of mushrooms, their reproductive behaviors, their spores, how they spread, and the stories surrounding them and notable figures that had come into contact with them. The book is filled with an abundance of information that can please the experienced mycologists who are looking for more facts and knowledge.

The encyclopedia is structured in alphabetical order, providing an easily navigable system. It covers a wide array of fungi, listing both their scientific names and common nicknames. The author guides you through the large array of information with an engaging personality, keeping readers interested and entertained as he presents materials with quick yet detailed descriptions. He introduces accurate and professionally drawn pictures to go along with some of the descriptions, allowing the reader to better visualize and identify the fungi.

While this reference book is supposed to appeal to beginner mycologists and guide them through their journey, the quick summaries and lack of pictures only makes the type of fungi harder to accurately deduce. I was able to keep reading due to the author’s charismatic words and character, though I found it harder to read as I approached the end, as the information itself became somewhat boring. Many professional and scientific words were either briefly or never touched upon, making its quick and easy to read summaries also its downfall. Despite all of this, I cannot bring myself to hate the book. Majority of the problems I had with it came from my complete newness to the topic, but someone with even an inch more of knowledge about mycology than me would have a much more enjoyable experience. The encyclopedia did end up teaching me a thing or two more about the more simpler, common mushrooms, but is most definitely not a good starter for those who have never researched mycology before. The book itself is only 200 pages long, and due to its small size it makes for a relatively short read, so do not be afraid to check it out.

All in all, Fungipedia: A Brief Compendium of Mushroom Lore is a good reference work, and despite it being one that struggles to appeal to its intended audience of beginner mycologists and instead leans more towards experienced ones, anyone can enjoy the author’s charming and passionate attitude towards the subject.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful mini-encyclopedia of fungi and mushrooms. I read it as the encyclopedia it is, dipping in here and there. Each time I opened a page, I delighted in the humor, depth of knowledge, and erudite discussion I found wherever I landed.

For example, there's this, in the entry "Chytrids":

"Chytrids, as they are commonly called, would be known only to mycologists, except that one species, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (BD, for short) has been implicated in population declines or extinctions of frogs in the tropics. Climate change or habitat loss could also be weakening the frogs, making them more susceptible to infection."

Or, later on that page:

"Claudius (10 BCE–54 AD)
"Roman emperor who may or may not have died from eating a dish that featured not only an edible mushroom, Amanita caesarea (so named because it was a favorite species of the Ceasars), but possibly a toxic Amanita as well."

This little book covers the biology, chemistry, pharmacology, psychopharmacology, cuisine, culture (fungal and human), and history of the interaction in all of these spheres between animals, plants, and the awesome (in the original sense of inspiring an experience of reverence) fungal kingdom.

[Randy Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Merlin Sheldrake’s ‘Entangled Web,‘ about the amazing world of fungi, I picked Fungipedia up at Moe’s Books and instantly got immersed. As the title suggests this is an A to Z collection of short, insightful, fun and amazing entries about fungi.

The entries are a nice variety of fungi legends, short biographies of mycologists and important scientific facts. There is also a focus on magic, toxic and tasty mushrooms too.

A typically entry would be, ‘Berserker Mushroom‘

‘Berserk’ means ‘bear shirt’ in several Scandinavian tongues. Rather than eat a mushroom that can cause gastroenterological issues, Vicking warriors wore shirts made of bear fur inside out, and with the fur rubbing constantly against their skin, they must have felt pretty irritated. Indeed, they might have said to themselves, “I’m going to get rid of this enemy immediately so I can take off this damn shirt.’

I highly recommend this light (bathroom?) read as a supplement to additional readings about fungi. Because of its ‘A to B’ nature, it isn’t meant to provide deep understanding of classification, propagation or even basic species characteristics. This isn’t a criticism just a warning not to turn to this book for serious study. This just lots of fun!

[Krista Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like these types of little books.

There is a lot of interesting information on fungi in here, and I liked searching for images of the fungi online as I read about them. There is also historical and cultural information about fungi, among other related topics.

I was surprised to see an entry about Terence Mckenna, as I had recently read a book that featured him, and I personally think he and his ideas about human evolution are absolutely coo-coo. Right after this entry is one on medicinal mushrooms, and I especially like what the author has to say under this entry. Other entries I especially enjoyed were Bonnet Mold (it is just very pretty in my opinion); Carver, George Washington (I never knew to associate him with fungi); Hair Ice; Indwellers (I did not know there was an underwater mushroom!); King Tut's Curse; and Spongiforma squarepantsii (I agree with the author that there is no reason science can't be amusing. I like the other examples of funny scientific names; one of my favorites not mentioned in this book is a protein named Sonic hedgehog.)

Anyway, very cute book and an easy little read.

[Augusto Bernardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and to the point. I enjoyed this quick read as I was so fascinated with the topic and wanted a book that would give some individual appreciation of specific fungi. And that's exactly what this book does. It doesn't really have a structure and doesn't linger anywhere for too long but methodical goes through alphabetically through the noteworthy types of moulds, mushrooms, polypores, etc. The author goes further though and also adds in not just the fungi themselves but also the scientists and important researchers themselves. If that wasn't enough, he also adds diseases, famous rituals, historical and pop culture references to Fungi that become cool and interesting facts. That might seem a lot but the book is really just a beginner's guide and keeps it relatively quick.
Off the top of my head, outside of the many interesting fungi that the book outlines, some of the noteworthy topics were the fictional mushroom in Alice in wonderland, the supposed assassination of emperor Claudius, south American psychedelic mushrooms and of course, the one and only, Paul fucking Stamets.

[Brian Hutzell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fungipedia is the first in the Pedia Series from Princeton Press. There are now eight books in the series, and I have five of them. They are a lot of fun, so I am pretty sure I’ll be collecting them all. These books are academically sound, but aimed at the general reader with an interest in science and nature. Their small size and sturdy hardcovers make them perfect for carrying along on the subway, the airport, or anywhere else you might find yourself wanting something to read. (My wife says I spend too much time treating the bathroom as my library.) Note: This is not a field guide to mushroom hunting, so before you sample that edible looking fungus, you will want a different book to help keep you from poisoning yourself.

[Barrita · Rating 5 out of 5]

El libro es muy bonito y contiene no solo información sobre diferentes tipos de hongos, sino también conceptos asociados a los mismos. Esta mini enciclopedia sobre todo lo relacionado a hongos abarca una amplia variedad de temas, asi que no se aburre uno.

Las ilustraciones inicialmente me parecieron muy simples, pero creo que al final me acostumbré y son funcionales para complementar la información.

El mundo de los hongos es fascinante, así que es genial tener tantos datos en un librito tan bonito.

[Melanie Dahling · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard the author on a podcast and ordered it right away. I wanted to love it. As it was described, this is what I was looking for: a fun collection of interesting trivia about mushrooms with cool illustrations. I am fascinated by fungi BUT I am not really a scientifically minded person- I like stories.

This has more scientific descriptions than I was expecting, and the illustrations are scant. I end up googling the mushrooms he’s describing so I can get an idea.

It would be a cute gift for someone just getting started in mycology.

[Maisie Iven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful encyclopedia of my favorite thing, fungi! I think the idea of it being a "compendium of lore," isn't entirely accurate--it's not a book of folklore, it has some folk stories in it, but it is ultimately a reference book. Not a great volume for people new to the field, but a great intermediate text. The author, as other reviewers have commented, does come across as a little condescending, especially to hobby-scientists, but he is ultimately really knowledgeable and explains things well!

[Mircea · Rating 3 out of 5]

the book is okay and packed with interesting bits about fungi and things surrounding them - as an amateur mycologist I have learned a few things

the problem that i have is that the author’s tone is a little bit condescending (when I guess it was meant to be witty). the way the author simply dismisses medicinal mushrooms and how he lectures the reader on enjoy searching for mushrooms but maybe not picking them up/eating them were a huge turnoff.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lighthearted romp through the world of fungi, marred by some fairly basic scientific inaccuracies, eg chitin was described as being made of amino acids (should be amino sugars) and two instances where "metastasizes" was used where surely "metabolizes" was intended. It felt a bit like reading a trawl through Wikipedia--lots of fun snippets and topics I would like to explore more, but ultimately unsatisfying and lacking in substance.

[Jerrilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The funniest mushroom book ever! An interesting intro to the species, history, and personalities of mushrooming. (Beatrix Potter, wrote children's books after being denied publication of scholarly works on mushrooms because of being female! John Cage, famous composer but supported himself gathering mushrooms! Franz Schubert, killed by mushrooms!)