Mushrooms of the Mid-Atlantic United States
http://www.midatlanticshrooms.net
Research, Identifications, and Classifications conducted
by Geoff Gould and David Podgor.
Photography by Geoff Gould and David Podgor.
Web site design by David Podgor.
Special thanks to Evan Halperin, Vince Licciardello, Melinda Podgor, and Geoff Ravilious.
Table of Contents
Information on mushrooms and other fungi found in parks and other areas in the Mid-Atlantic United States, specifically in Maryland and Virginia.
There is much more to mushroom hunting than just searching for mushrooms. A failed mushroom hunt can be a successful walk through the woods or a first visit to a little known park. A good mushroom hunt will provide the joy of discovery, and it will be a reward for your close attention to detail and the deep, meditative concentration you must apply to your task. If you start to learn mushroom species, you will begin to appreciate the infinite variety and minute detail of the natural world. As you start to learn more about your surroundings, you will start to view the world in a different way. Identifying a mushroom is like solving a puzzle, and the process is very appealing to those who enjoy a challenge or those who thrive on organization and love to classify things. Like all activities based in the natural world, observing mushrooms invariably forces one to think about evolution and the cycle of life and to ponder his or her role in the natural order. It helps to put things in perspective and allows us to realize that our daily concerns are trivial compared to the vastness of nature and the struggle for existence that all living things engage in every day. Think about how you feel after watching TV all day: you feel guilty because you’ve wasted the day and not accomplished anything, and the activity you did to help you relax only made you feel more stressed out. Next time the weather is nice and you have “nothing to do” try to go on a foray – anywhere with grass and mulch will do; your lawn, a parking lot – and then see how you feel when you’re done. If you are like me, you’ll never want to watch TV again.
-Geoff Gould
DISCLAIMER: **Please note. Eat wild mushrooms at your own risk. We will not be held responsible for improper use of the information on this site. To properly identify mushroom species, you must have many reliable sources. Learning about mushrooms takes a lot of experience, outdoor observations, and reading. Please consult your nearest library or nature center for mushroom sources.
All images are under direct ownership of Geoff Gould and David Podgor. If you would like to use these images, please contact the webmaster.
Last Modified: October 14, 2008
