Bookshelf Fungi
Te text consists of an introduction, easy-to-use keys, the
respective habitats of the species in question, notes on ecology, and concluding notes. I especially like the attention Ms. Cripps pays to substrates. Tat’s because knowing that a species is associated with Dryas rather than moss or with a liverwort rather than a dwarf willow will help identify it. Te book ends with a glossary, references, and a taxonomic index. As for the photos, most were taken by the author herself, and they tend to be excellent. Despite the title, Alpine Mushrooms of North America also
focuses on the Arctic. Tus, we learn that Rickenella fibula is found not only in the Rocky Mountains, but also in Greenland and Svalbard (I’ve found it all over the Canadian Arctic). Yet the biogeographical patterns of altitude and latitude are not exactly the same. Te result: a different range of species in these non-parallel regions. Roughly 98% of all Arctic fungi are not endemic. Tis is not necessarily true of alpine fungi. Tat the book focuses mainly on habitats above treeline makes the references to Arctic habitats seem somewhat inconsequential. Te book’s jacket suggests that it’s “charged with cutting
edge science.” Personally, I feel obliged to say that its scientific knife is not particularly sharp. For instance, it doesn’t refer to the cold weather adaptations of the fungi that it features. As a result, there’s no mention of fatty acids, anti-freeze proteins, or sterile cells in any of its 238 pages. Nor does the book mention that moss-inhabiting species utilize the equivalent of a parka — i.e., the temperature inside the moss is considerably warmer than outside of it. However, it does highlight the need for habitat conservation, which means fungal conservation, too. Let me conclude by saying yet again that Alpine Mushrooms
of North America is a quite useful pocket guide. While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that you take it to Greenland, I do recommend that you take it with you to the Beartooth Plateau in Montana or Telluride, Colorado. -Lawrence Millman
Alpine Mushrooms of North America, from another
perspective with notes on and from the author. Mushrooms occur in just about every corner of the terrestrial
Alpine Mushrooms of North
America: Treasures Above Treeline Cathy L. Cripps 2025, University of Illinois Press 256 PAGES. 4.5 X 7.25 inches; 207 color photographs; paper 978-0-252-08893-3; $29.95 E-BOOK: 978-0-252-04837-1
S
ince there’s a paucity of books devoted to fungi found in the mountainous regions of North America, Cathy Cripps’s
new book Alpine Mushrooms of North America is a valuable resource. Te book is small enough to be a pocket guide, albeit one whose print is a bit diminutive. Ms. Cripps describes mostly gilled fungi, including Cortinarius (20 species), Hebelomas (11 species), Entolomas (7 species), Russulas (11 species), and Inocybes (21 species!). Rather a number of the species are new to me. Tat there are only 2 ascomycetes in the book is indicative of the author’s passion for Basidiomycota rather than the absence of ascos in alpine regions.
44 FUNGI Volume 19:2 Summer 2026
planet. Even the most out-of-the-way places. Like the tops of mountain (believe it or not). And although many would be surprised, we should not be; just as there are tiny alpine wildflowers, so too are there tiny high-elevation mushrooms. Based on 25 years of research and collecting in alpine habitats, renowned alpine mycologist Cathy L. Cripps has just published Alpine Mushrooms of North America which offers a comprehensive guide to these little-known fungi, whose season is short and whose dimensions are often minuscule. Cripps previously authored Te Essential Guide to Rocky Mountain Mushrooms by Habitat (2016, U of Illinois Press). Her new book covers alpine habitats in the Rocky
Mountains (Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana) plus excursions into British Columbia and Alaska. Te book’s contents include: Introduction and Mushrooms in the Alpine and Arctic; How to use this book; a Key to Mushrooms; a Key to non-gilled fungi; then the main sections of text including: Mushrooms of Meadows and Grasslands; Puffballs in Meadows and Grasslands; Mushrooms on mosses, liverworts, or open soil; Mycorrhizal Mushrooms with willow, birch, Dryas; A few small Non-gilled Fungi; plus References; an Index; a Glossary; and a List of Genera.
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