Skip to content
MushroomScope
Menu

The journal

Latest mushroom guides

Thoughtful, practical reading for curious mushroom people.

Dense cultivated cluster of brown beech mushrooms with pale stems fruiting from a sawdust block

mushrooms

Hypsizygus marmoreus: Beech mushroom Species Guide

Learn Beech mushroom identification, habitat, season, lookalikes, safety, food context, and cultivation limits with current taxonomy and sources.

Three pale field-mushroom-like Agaricus growing in damp grass, with pink-brown gills visible on one upturned cap

mushrooms

Field Mushroom (Agaricus campestris): Identification and Safety Guide

Learn how to document field mushroom features, distinguish key lookalikes, and use local expert confirmation before any wild-food decision.

Golden oyster mushrooms with yellow fan-shaped caps and decurrent gills fruiting from a hardwood log

mushrooms

Golden Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus citrinopileatus): Ecology and Growing Guide

Learn golden oyster mushroom traits, hardwood ecology, North American spread, cultivation variables, harvest quality, lookalikes, and identification limits.

Three matsutake mushrooms at different stages emerging from pine needles on a forest floor

mushrooms

Tricholoma matsutake: Matsutake Species Guide

Learn Matsutake identification, habitat, season, lookalikes, safety, food context, and cultivation limits with current taxonomy and sources.

Cluster of glossy amber nameko mushrooms fruiting from a damp hardwood log

mushrooms

Nameko Mushroom: Taxonomy, Cultivation, Texture, and Safety

Understand nameko taxonomy, glossy cap texture, East Asian hardwood ecology, controlled cultivation, cooking behavior, lookalikes, and food safety.

Cluster of brown-capped Pioppino mushrooms growing from a rain-darkened hardwood log

mushrooms

Pioppino Mushroom Guide: Taxonomy, Cultivation, and Cooking

A sourced Pioppino guide covering Cyclocybe aegerita taxonomy, wood-decay ecology, cultivated form, food safety, cooking, and lookalike limits.

AI editorial image of two brown porcini with pale pore surfaces and thick reticulate stems on a moist woodland floor

mushrooms

Porcini Mushrooms: Bolete Features, Tree Partners, and Safety

Understand porcini through Boletus edulis pores, reticulate stems, tree partnerships, regional species limits, lookalikes, cooking, and safety.

Glossy reddish-brown Ganoderma brackets growing on a decaying hardwood stump

mushrooms

Ganoderma lingzhi: Reishi Mushroom Identification and Evidence Guide

Understand Ganoderma lingzhi taxonomy, varnished-conk identification, cultivation, supplement evidence, interactions, safety, and responsible FAQs.

Slender yellowfoot chanterelles with brown funnels, gray folds, and yellow stems in wet moss

mushrooms

Yellowfoot Chanterelle: Craterellus tubaeformis Field Guide

Identify yellowfoot chanterelles by hollow yellow stems, gray folds, mossy conifer habitat, lookalikes, season, cooking qualities, and safety limits.

Mushroom photographed from multiple angles with scale and habitat context

identification

Mushroom Photography Checklist for Identification

Capture the cap, underside, complete stem base, habitat, scale, and specimens at different ages before asking for identification help.

Clear tote fruiting chamber with filtered air holes, moist perlite, oyster mushroom blocks, and a hygrometer

growing

How to Build a Simple Mushroom Fruiting Chamber

Build a simple mushroom fruiting chamber for authenticated blocks with materials, setup steps, humidity and air guidance, and safety limits.

Cultivated lion's mane mushroom fruiting from a home grow block

growing

How to Grow Lion's Mane Mushrooms at Home

Lion's mane needs clean culture, hardwood-based substrate, high humidity without saturation, and adequate fresh air for compact fruiting bodies.

Original editorial image showing oyster mushroom blocks at rest, pinning, and mature later-flush stages

growing

Mushroom Flush Management: Decide When to Rest, Refruit, or Retire a Block

Manage mushroom flushes with defined harvest windows, block condition checks, room capacity, water control, quality records, and conservative exit decisions.

Original editorial image illustrating mushroom grow-room sensors: placement, calibration, and logs

growing

Mushroom Grow-Room Sensors: Placement, Calibration, and Logs

Place and verify temperature, humidity, and carbon-dioxide sensors in a mushroom grow room using reference checks, mapped locations, and useful logs.

Original editorial illustration supporting mushroom inoculation methods compared without serving as identification evidence

growing

Mushroom Inoculation Methods Compared

Compare agar, liquid culture, grain-to-grain, sawdust spawn, and plug spawn by substrate, scale, cleanliness, and traceability.

Original editorial image of two groups of oyster mushroom blocks arranged for a small comparative strain trial

growing

Mushroom Strain Trial Design: Compare Cultures Without Fooling Yourself

Design a mushroom strain trial with a defined question, replicated blocks, controlled variables, blind grading, complete failures, and cautious conclusions.

Original editorial image for mushroom substrate hydration: moisture without lost airspace

growing

Mushroom Substrate Hydration: Moisture Without Lost Airspace

Measure and adjust mushroom substrate hydration by material, water-holding capacity, drainage, sterilization method, and colonization observations.

Original editorial image illustrating mushroom yield and biological efficiency: calculate comparable batches

growing

Mushroom Yield and Biological Efficiency: Calculate Comparable Batches

Calculate mushroom yield and biological efficiency with dry-substrate mass, harvest boundaries, flush records, quality grades, losses, and honest comparisons.