Mushrooms!
by Emily Hart, Science Librarian, Research Impact Lead and Jackson Adams, Promotion and Publicity Coordinator, Syracuse University Press
Syracuse University Libraries has many interesting collections, but one of our more unique collections is our mushroom books and resources. And now is an outstanding time to celebrate this collection, as we announce that Syracuse University Press, the Libraries’ academic publishing unit, is releasing a new mushroom field guide, Boletes of Eastern North America, Second Edition, by Alan Bessette and Arleen Bessette, publishing May 15, 2024.
Boletes of Eastern North America, Second Edition is the definitive source on one of the most sought-after wild mushrooms. Boletes are a common edible mushroom, known for their spongey, distinctive caps, called pores. The second edition is updated and expanded and is a fully illustrated and comprehensive field guide for mushroom hunters, foragers and professional mycologists. It includes listings and photos for every type of bolete, including field impressions, notes on habitats, fruiting information and geographic distribution. Boletes of Eastern North America, Second Edition is one of nearly a dozen titles from Syracuse University Press focusing on fungi and mycology in North America.
Syracuse University Libraries has been steadily collecting mushroom books and related resources since 1969, when the Burlingham Mushroom Endowment was established. Gertrude Simmons Burlingham was a mycologist born in Mexico, NY who received her bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University in 1898 and her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1908. She taught biology in Binghamton, NY. The Burlingham Mushroom Endowment was established to provide a wide variety of books to delight mushroom lovers of all types, from wild mushroom foragers to enthusiastic chefs looking for delectable mushroom recipes, to the serious researcher studying mycology and the symbiotic relationships of fungi.
Along with intriguing print and eBook titles like DIY Mushroom Cultivation and Mushrooms with Therapeutic Potentials, the Burlingham Mushroom Endowment helps Syracuse University Libraries pay for the database JSTOR Global Plants, “the world’s largest database of digitized plant specimens and a locus for international scientific research,” that includes a wide variety of journal articles on mushrooms.
To find mushroom books, articles and more through SU Libraries, do a Libraries Search for “mushroom” or “fungi” or “mycelium.” In your search, you may come across several journal articles published by SU faculty who are using mycelium in their research, including:
- “Nutrient conditions mediate mycorrhizal effects on biomass production and cell wall chemistry in poplar,” by Katie M. Becklin, Bethanie M. Viele, and Heather D. Coleman from Department of Biology (College of Arts and Sciences).
- “Design and build a green tent environment for growing and charactering mycelium growth in lab,” by Libin Yang, Ruohan Xu, Bing Dong, and Zhao Qin from College of Engineering and Computer Science; Nina Sharifi from School of Architecture and Syracuse Center of Excellence; and Zhao Quin from The BioInspired Institute.
- “Material Function of Mycelium-Based Bio-Composite: A Review,” by Libin Yang, College of Engineering and Computer Science; Daekwon Park, School of Architecture; and Zhao Qin, The BioInspired Institute.
Or check out the SU Press Boletes of Eastern North America, Second Edition.