Foraging books

[Geoff Dann]

I'd be very interested in people's opinions on foraging books currently available.

I have a book on edible wild fungi coming out next year (http://www.geoffdann.co.uk/the-book/). For those who are interested this now has a release date (Thursday September 29th) and a title ("Edible Mushrooms: A Forager’s Guide to the Wild Fungi of Britain and Europe".) It will feature well over 300 edible species - much more comprehensive than any book already out there.

But I'm now looking to the future and thinking about possibilities for other foraging-related books. The market for a really good book on edible fungi had a big gap in it - there weren't any comprehensive books out there, and the closest competing books are ten years old and already a bit out of date. The other two areas - books on edible plants and books on wild food cookery - are tighter in terms of competition. There's more books already

So the question is what do people think of them, and what would you like to see come out in the future? What are the best ones, the worst ones, and what sort of book would you consider buying? A really comprehensive, well-illustrated book on edible plants? An encyclopedia of edible plants and seaweeds? A cookery book that focuses on recipes with more than one type of wild food in? Anything else?

I'd be interested in any opinions people might offer about both existing books and what you'd like to see - what gaps you think there might be in the market (if there are any at all)!

 

[nephilim]

I'd like to see the following:

A book which covers the common species of the flora found in the UK, with pictures and whether edible or not, and how to prep them if so. There would also be a nice feature if they have any medicinal purposes (but noting that you're not a Dr, and you cannot offer legit medical advice).

 

[Geoff Dann]

I'd like to see the following:

A book which covers the common species of the flora found in the UK, with pictures and whether edible or not, and how to prep them if so. There would also be a nice feature if they have any medicinal purposes (but noting that you're not a Dr, and you cannot offer legit medical advice).

Well, that would be pretty much a direct plant equivalent of the fungi book that is coming out next year. I had considered doing something like that, but decided it probably wasn't worth it because I thought people would probably already know the common plants (certainly better than they know the common fungi). But maybe I should reconsider. I don't think a book as you've described already exists, so perhaps there is a gap in the market there.

 

[Herbalist1]

Hi Geoff,
cant help I'm afraid with ideas for your next book - I've already got some many books on foraging, cooking with wild spp., plant id, medicinal uses etc that I don't need another (not to say I won't buy anymore though - but that's just a problem I have &#128521.
BUT I am very interested in your fungi book - sounds great. So I just wanted to say, be sure to remind us all when it does come out. It's a long time til September and I don't want to forgot and miss it! In the meantime I'll resist buying any other fungi books. I've already got quite a few but I like the sound of the angle (and the scope) of your upcoming work.
best of luck with getting it to press - looking forward to it.

 

[Chris the Fish]

I think a book which is divided up into seasons/months would be handy. All the books I have are either alphabetically sorted or by type of plant.


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[baggins]

Hey Geoff,
my first question is, in your new book, what have you put for the blusher (Amanita rubescens)? edible, non edible, edible after treatment?
I ask this as Credibility is the biggest criteria for me, subject second. most of the books i have (inc the well respected collins0 have the wrong and potentially dangerous description.
Any foraging book i buy, i like to know that the author has a good background knowledge on their chosen subject, be that academical or just a lifetime of experience.

As for a good subject, i think, although there have been many before, a good wild food guide. with the following criteria.
1; pocket sized
2; exceptionally clear pictures for ID, of flowers, leaves, stems, bulbs etc
3, a key aimed at amatuers rather than botanists.
4; clear guide to companion plants and areas that plants are likely to be found.
5; space for notes next to each plant.

Heehee, i know this is a probably not a realistic list and a publishers nightmare. but this is the sort of book that i would buy.
I have shelves of foraging and botanical books and there aren't that many that i really do rely on. Roger Philips, Richard Maybe and (grudgingly) Huge Furry Whatshisname (or at least his authors), are realistically the ones that are used the most. many of the others are either written by idiots or academics.

Am really looking forward to your book by the way.

Baggins

 

[Chris the Fish]

Me too, I'll certainly look for a copy


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[Lizz]

Hey Dann, there's a good series coming out at present called 'never mind the burdocks', I've also been given 'hunting the wild asparagus' (or something) which is low on pictures but otherwise good. Eat the beach by Fraser is good - clear photos. So are the mini Collins guides with photos and not drawings. Ffyona Campbell has some very well illustrated booklets for hunting and gathering, there are three of them, and of course as others have mentioned there are the Roger Phillips tomes! I've also got Alys Fowlers foraging book and a Canadian one which is beautiful even if you can't find their plants here. I've also got three from scandinavea and the Netherlands (in the original languages but with very clear signage over yes and no). I had a Churchill fellowship 15 years ago looking at foraging which was then less visible in the media and since then the number of books available has multiplied - the Hugh FW books are good, and there are several now which are dedicated to forage from which drinks can be made - especially alcoholic ones! booze for free springs to mind...

 

[Geoff Dann]

BUT I am very interested in your fungi book - sounds great. So I just wanted to say, be sure to remind us all when it does come out. It's a long time til September and I don't want to forgot and miss it!

Don't worry....you will be reminded!

best of luck with getting it to press - looking forward to it.

My bit of the job is nearly finished. Goes to publisher at the end of January.

 

[Geoff Dann]

I think a book which is divided up into seasons/months would be handy. All the books I have are either alphabetically sorted or by type of plant.

Roger Phillips "Wild Food" is organised by time of year.

 

[Geoff Dann]

Hey Geoff,
my first question is, in your new book, what have you put for the blusher (Amanita rubescens)? edible, non edible, edible after treatment?

Edible when cooked. Needs to be heated to 80 degrees.

I ask this as Credibility is the biggest criteria for me, subject second. most of the books i have (inc the well respected collins0 have the wrong and potentially dangerous description.

Yep. It is crucial there aren't any mistakes. This book will be the most up to date, comprehensive and (hopefully) error-free book on European edible wild fungi ever published, by a very wide margin. Most of the existing books are either out of date or have lots of mistakes in them. John Wright's is probably the best, but only covers 72 species. Mine will cover more like 350. Also, in the ten years since Wright's book (and the other half-decent book, by Peter Jordan) were published, the toxicology has moved on and some things are now known to be poisonous that weren't 10 years ago.

As for a good subject, i think, although there have been many before, a good wild food guide. with the following criteria.
1; pocket sized
2; exceptionally clear pictures for ID, of flowers, leaves, stems, bulbs etc
3, a key aimed at amatuers rather than botanists.
4; clear guide to companion plants and areas that plants are likely to be found.
5; space for notes next to each plant.

Can't do 2-4 in a pocket sized book, and no publisher will go for 5. Thanks for the detailed feedback though!

Richard Maybe and (grudgingly)

Has three major mistakes in the mushroom section (wrong pictures - in one case VERY wrong). I was extremely disappointed with this book (the latest, biggest one). He's getting away with it because of who he is. You just can't make mistakes like that in a mushrooms foraging book. I did try to contact him about this, but he didn't reply...

 

[Geoff Dann]

Hey Dann,

Geoff. Dann is my surname. I get called "Dann" by mistake at least once a week...

there's a good series coming out at present called 'never mind the burdocks', I've also been given 'hunting the wild asparagus' (or something) which is low on pictures but otherwise good. Eat the beach by Fraser is good - clear photos. So are the mini Collins guides with photos and not drawings. Ffyona Campbell has some very well illustrated booklets for hunting and gathering, there are three of them, and of course as others have mentioned there are the Roger Phillips tomes! I've also got Alys Fowlers foraging book and a Canadian one which is beautiful even if you can't find their plants here. I've also got three from scandinavea and the Netherlands (in the original languages but with very clear signage over yes and no). I had a Churchill fellowship 15 years ago looking at foraging which was then less visible in the media and since then the number of books available has multiplied - the Hugh FW books are good, and there are several now which are dedicated to forage from which drinks can be made - especially alcoholic ones! booze for free springs to mind...

Are the Scandinavian ones about fungi, or wild food in general? It might be a big market for my fungi book, and I don't know much about any competing books.

 

[Lizz]

Sorry. I realised just after I posted. The two scandinavean ones are general with a good mushroom section. The Dutch one is fungi.

 

[Geoff Dann]

Hey Geoff,
Credibility is the biggest criteria for me, subject second. most of the books i have (inc the well respected collins0 have the wrong and potentially dangerous description.

...Richard Maybe...

2012 edition of Food for Free:

p347, description of Velvet Shanks (Flammulina velutipes). Photo accompanying it is actually of Sheathed Woodtuft (Kuhneromyces mutabilis). Fortunately both are edible.

p365, description of Field Mushroom (Agaricus campestris). Photo is of a mushroom growing in woodland. A. campestris NEVER grows in woodland (feeds on decaying grass roots). Photo is probably of some other Agaricus species, can't say which for certain but probably a horse mushroom.

p373, description of the poisonous Yellow Stainer (Agaricus xanthodermus). Photo is of something that isn't an Agaricus at all, apparently growing on a log (no Agaricus species grow on logsl). Picture is almost certainly of Honey Fungus (which is edible). I can only hope this mistake was made by the publisher, and not Mr Mabey, because it's a pretty bad one - beginner level mistake.

p391, description of a (tasty) Yellow Swamp Russula. Picture is of a Russula, but not Yellow Swamp. At least it is a very unusual specimen if that's what it is (wrong colour). Looks like the vile-smelling Stinking Russula (R. foetens).

(And I might have been a bit more courteous in not publicly highlighting his mistakes, had he been courteous enough to reply to my email.)

 

[Geoff Dann]

Sorry. I realised just after I posted. The two scandinavean ones are general with a good mushroom section. The Dutch one is fungi.

How recent are they, and how many mushrooms species do they cover (approximately)?

 

[baggins]

Heehee Geoff,
yup, i too noticed the mistakes in Maybe's books. i generally use 2 or 3 books for IDing just for cross referencing.
i do realise my list of criteria could never really be put into one book, it would end up needing an hgv just to transport it.
As i say, really looking forward to your book.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

One of the things I find suboptimal with plant and animal ID books is their use these days of photos. If you goto somewhere like Kew, and dig out a Flora[1] you won't find photos of the plants, you find illustrations. These are carefully penned by skilled artists to make identification easier. Photos just don't cut it. They only show the plant in one state, they don't show all the bits you need. It's he same with photos of animal tracks, with a drawing it's a lot easier to use. The best guide books I've found on this are my childhood ladybird books, that have since gone walk about

It would also be nice to have more info regarding timing of plants. Sorting plants by alphabetical order is not great in a book, as you might not know the name, but you may know that it has yellow flowers and that bloom in March. Roger Philips "Wild Food" does sort by timing but it has no useful plant ID info in there, the photos are things like a demijohn sat under a tree... not helpful.

The other books I have - Easy Wild Food by Neil Fletcher & Food for Free by Richard Maybe are both let down by their illustrations/photos. The later I have as the Colins Gem version, the full size version may have more useful illustrations. Easy wild food has half decent drawings as well as photos, but it tends to only show a single leaf and a single flower, this isn't enough for proper plant ID, tho the drawings are more useful than the Colin's Gem version of FFF. It doesn't give any info regarding what you might confuse a certain plant for, and how to differentiate them. It is also very limited in the number of species covered.

Finally in terms of form factor, the size of Cicerone guide books is about ideal for a guide book you want to take into the field.

J



[1] The name for a book about the plants of an area, as well as the the collective name for the plants themselves. Compare Wikipedia - Flora vs Wikipedia - flora.

 

[Geoff Dann]

One of the things I find suboptimal with plant and animal ID books is their use these days of photos. If you goto somewhere like Kew, and dig out a Flora[1] you won't find photos of the plants, you find illustrations. These are carefully penned by skilled artists to make identification easier. Photos just don't cut it. They only show the plant in one state, they don't show all the bits you need.

Well....yes and no. On fungi rather than plants (where I'm better qualified) - Roger Phillips' photos of mushrooms absolutely show fungi in all states. His book has studio shots showing all the states of the fungi - but not the habitat. I agree (with respect to fungi) that anything less "all" isn't good enough, and illustrations are better. However, the all-singing-all-dancing most-recent fungi book (Buczacki) features illustrations rather than photos, and while I do use that book for its comprehensiveness, I still end up looking for photos online to corroborate the illustrations.

That said, fungi are different to plants, because fungi books just feature the mushrooms, which are roughly equivalent to the flowers of plants. Plants are around for a much longer part of their life-cycle, and more of their features are there for identification - stems, leaves, roots....

Regarding the fungi, I hope I've got the balance right (see here for an example of the photo style: http://www.geoffdann.co.uk/the-book/

Regarding a future plant foraging book, I'm still a long way from making a decision on what to go for, but illustrations aren't really an option for me. Too expensive given the amount of competition for such a book.

It would also be nice to have more info regarding timing of plants. Roger Philips "Wild Food" does sort by timing but it has no useful plant ID info in there, the photos are things like a demijohn sat under a tree... not helpful.

Agreed....