# Mushrooms Demystified **Mushrooms Demystified** is a mushroom identification book by the American naturalist, writer, and biologist [David Arora](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-arora), published by Ten Speed Press of Berkeley.[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) • [2](https://search.worldcat.org/title/Mushrooms-demystified-%3A-a-comprehensive-guide-to-the-fleshy-fungi/oclc/442774588) Its full title is *Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi*, and it describes, illustrates, and keys more than 2,000 species of mushrooms.[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) First published in 1979 with a subtitle reflecting its original Central California Coast scope, it was expanded in a second edition on October 1, 1986, which runs to 1,056 pages and includes 950 color photographs.[4](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL2713052M/Mushrooms_demystified) • [1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) • [3](https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/6016) A beginner's checklist covers the 70 most distinctive and common mushrooms.[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) | Key fact | Detail | |---|---| | Author | David Arora, an American naturalist, writer, and biologist specializing in fungi[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) | | Publisher / size | Ten Speed Press, Berkeley; second edition published October 1, 1986, 1,056 pages, 6 x 9 inches[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) • [2](https://search.worldcat.org/title/Mushrooms-demystified-%3A-a-comprehensive-guide-to-the-fleshy-fungi/oclc/442774588) | | Coverage | Descriptions, photographs, and keys to over 2,000 species; a beginner's checklist of the 70 most distinctive and common mushrooms[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) | | Illustrations | 950 color photographs[3](https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/6016) | | ISBN | 9780898151695 (second edition paperback)[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) | | Companion volume | *All That the Rain Promises and More*, Arora's other popular book on wild fungus identification[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) | ## Publication history The book first appeared in 1979 from Ten Speed Press under the subtitle *A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi of the Central California Coast*, reflecting its original regional scope.[4](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL2713052M/Mushrooms_demystified) The second edition of 1986 broadened the work and added substantially to it; it runs to 1,056 pages and carries ISBN 9780898151695.[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) The 1986 edition remains in print as a paperback listed at $42.00.[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) ## Content and method The book combines species accounts with identification keys, the step-by-step paired questions that lead a user from a specimen's observable traits to a name. It opens with detailed chapters on terminology, classification, habitats, mushroom cookery, mushroom toxins, and the meanings of scientific mushroom names.[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) A beginner's checklist covers the 70 most distinctive and common mushrooms, giving new foragers a short list to learn before working through the full keys.[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) The second edition includes 950 color photographs.[3](https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/6016) Arora writes, in the publisher's description, with engaging style, wit, and simple terminology, and the book is addressed to beginners and experienced mushroom hunters alike.[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) ## Reception and standing Mycological societies list it among their standard identification references; the San Diego Mycological Society's identification resources include it alongside *California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide*.[5](https://sdmyco.org/projects/identification/) A review of field guides for [Pacific Northwest](https://www.edgepedia.org/pacific-northwest) mushroomers describes it as more complete than most field guides and notes its usefulness for identifying common local non-gilled Basidiomycetes such as boletes.[6](https://www.psms.org/sporeprints/SP545.pdf) Among foragers, the book is frequently recommended for the western United States, and readers commonly pair it with Arora's smaller pocket guide *All That the Rain Promises and More* for field use.[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) ## The author David Arora is an American naturalist, writer, and biologist who specializes in the study of fungi. He is the author of the two popular identification books *Mushrooms Demystified* and *All That the Rain Promises and More*, and has also written about conservation issues relating to recreational and commercial mushroom cultivation.[1](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) ## References 1. [Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora, Penguin Random House](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197443/mushrooms-demystified-by-david-arora/) 2. [Mushrooms demystified: a comprehensive guide to the fleshy fungi, WorldCat](https://search.worldcat.org/title/Mushrooms-demystified-%3A-a-comprehensive-guide-to-the-fleshy-fungi/oclc/442774588) 3. [Mushrooms Demystified, Microcosm Publishing](https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/6016) 4. [Mushrooms demystified, Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL2713052M/Mushrooms_demystified) 5. [Identification, San Diego Mycological Society](https://sdmyco.org/projects/identification/) 6. [A Review of Field Guides for Northwest Mushroomers, Spore Prints No. 545, Puget Sound Mycological Society (2018)](https://www.psms.org/sporeprints/SP545.pdf) --- *Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Microorganisms and fungi › Fungi and mycology › Basidiomycete taxa › Mushrooms and humans › Foraging and mushroom identification › Field guides and foraging instruction* *Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026* *Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.* License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license