The book 'MUSHROOMS' offers a comprehensive look into the world of mushrooms, including their cultivation, ethnobotanical uses, and the fascinating roles they play in nature. (From the presentation on the back cover of the book) Mushrooms are among the most curious and impressive inhabitants of the natural world and are highly valued for their distinctive flavors and uses in cooking and medicine, as well as for their sometimes strange and sometimes beautiful shapes and structures. Some are therapeutic, others poisonous or even deadly. Some are completely bizarre, such as the Vegetable caterpillar fungi, which grow directly on the tissues of caterpillars and other insects to produce a mummy in the shape of their unfortunate host. The cornerstone of the book is the exceptional illustration, which frames the most common edible and poisonous mushrooms in the world, from the famous black truffle of Périgord to the deadly and often unrecognizable Amanita phalloides, and from the multi-shaped Xylaria, which grows in clusters and resembles fingers growing from the ground, to the Lampteromyces japonicus, whose blades glow in the dark. With truly global coverage, this introduction to the world of mushrooms will delight naturalists, students, photographers, chefs, hikers, and cultivators around the world. [Excerpt from publisher or edition presentation text]