Using this group to ID mushrooms

[Steven Carpenter]

The best way to use this group to I.D. mushrooms:

1. You could get suggestions as to which books to look in at your
   library.  In fact, I suggest to many of those folks who need
   information, check the library FIRST, then check the internet.
   I have noticed a propensity for people asking questions that
   they could have answered themselves had they gone to a library.

2. You can get addresseses (via private response) of professionals
   and seasoned amateurs to whom you could mail a sporeprint and
   fedex fresh specimens if you are in need of identification.

3. Almost any information you receive on this newsgroup concerning
   identification of a single specimen should be judged highly
   suspect, not because of the quality of the person responding,
   but because fungi are identified by sight, sound and touch. 
   It is highly unlikely you would be able to send ALL of the
   requisite information in written form to properly identify 
   these organisms.  What you write down is directly related to
   your experience in identification - the less experience you
   have, the less likely it is that you will write down information
   that is  valuable in identification.  And those of us who are
   very good at identification of mushrooms probably would NOT
   respond to an  "electronic" description without a specimen
   in hand.   


-Steven E. Carpenter, Ph.D.
 Cascade Research Associates
  &  Abbey Lane Laboratory
 microbe at peak.org
Bill Chestnut (unicorn1 at nando.net) wrote:
: griner at ultranet.com (George Riner) wrote:

: >How best to use this group to get identifcation help on a fungus?

: I agree that id'ing by e-mail is tricky, indeed. My one question about 
: Blewits should point that out. I was really asking if anyone in NC had 
: positively ID'ed it but got opinions from everywhere _except_ NC.

: >Perhaps a bionet.mycology.id group?

: Wasn't this discussed and turned down a while back?

: >Or is this just too difficult and too tempting for some to post a
: >description, get a response and consider it done and eat the thing
: >only to regret it later and feel that someone who ventured to ID a
: >fungus over e-mail/newsgroup postings is to blame?

: Beggars can't be choosers! I agree with the post that

: If in doubt, throw it out!!

: Unless you like the thrill of having your stomach pumped.
: Bill Chestnut