This book is a comprehensive field guide to the mushrooms of the southeastern United States. Although it will stand on its own, it is intended to complement and serve as a companion to Mushrooms of Northeastern North America, also published by Syracuse University Press. Together these volumes form a foundation and reference for identifying mushrooms found in eastern North America from Canada to the subtropics of Florida and Texas.
This book features more than 450 species that are fully described and illustrated with photographs, many for the first time in colour. The photographs were selected for high-quality colour fidelity and documentary merit, and reflect some of the aesthetic appeal of our subject. The number of species described and illustrated in colour is substantially more than has previously appeared in any other single work devoted to the mushrooms of the southeastern United States. Cross-referencing to additional species occurring in the region that are illustrated in Mushrooms of Northeastern North America is provided. Although Mushrooms of the Southeastern United States contains the necessary detail required by advanced students and professional mycologists, it emphasizes identification based primarily on macroscopic field characters for easier use by a general audience. Each illustrated species is accompanied by a detailed description of macroscopic and microscopic features based on the concepts of their original authors.
Alan E. Bessette is professor of biology at Utica College of Syracuse University and is the author of numerous books including Mushrooms of Northeastern North America and North American Boletes, both published by Syracuse University Press. William C. Roody is a field mycologist and field biologist with the Wildlife Diversity Program at the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. Arleen R. Bessette is a mycologist and botanical photographer. She is the author of ten books including The Rainbow Beneath My Feet: A Mushroom Dyer's Field Guide, also published by Syracuse University Press. Dail L. Dunaway is a mycologist and botanical photographer.