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British Fungus Flora 9, Russulaceae: Lactarius.
Field Mycology Volume 6(4), October 2005 British Fungus Flora 9, Russulaceae: Lactarius. R.W. Rayner assisted by R.Watling & E.Turnbull. (2005) Pp. 203. ISBN 1 872291 34 1. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. £ 12.50 + p & p.
first began to take an interest in the genus Lactarius over ten years ago; the only good key had been published by Pearson in 1950 and listed 53 species. There were disagreements about names but I was assured that all would be well as Ronnie Rayner’s volume would be published soon in the British Fungus Flora. In 1998 Heilmann-Clausen, Verbeken & Vesterholt brought out a volume on Lactarius in the Flora of Northern Europe series (FNE2), followed by Maria Theresa Basso in 1999 in the Fungi Europaei series. It is a tribute to the persistence of Roy Watling in particular that the BFF volume has now appeared as a timely tribute to its principal author Ronnie Rayner, who sadly died in the autumn of 2002. The book forms a companion volume to his Keys to the British species of Russula published by the BMS in 1985. “Lactarius” follows the familiar format of the British Fungus Flora and has a brief description of the genus followed by notes on collecting Lactarius and the key characters to be observed. The key provided covers all the species thought to be British at the time of writing. It uses macroscopic characters for the main steps and interestingly keys out some species at more than one point. It is a pity that the innovative approach used by Rayner in his Russula volume whereby a series of synoptic keys were given which could be entered at various points has not been followed through for Lactarius. The individual species descriptions are comprehensive and based largely on fresh specimens. An interesting innovation is the application of a number of new chemical tests which are consistently reported across the genus. An outline drawing of each species together with microscopic drawings of spores, cystidia and in some cases the cap cuticle, are to be found in separate sections towards the end of the book. It would have helped users a great deal if these had been integrated with the text. This volume of BFF has a species index on pages 136 and 137, not at the end of the book, but this is easy to remedy by photocopying these pages and pasting them at the end. Sixtyfour species are described including one completely new species: L. hyphoinflatus.This fungus closely resembles L. subdulcis, but is found under oak or birch and is so far only known from a single site in West Sussex. A number of the names adopted will be unfamiliar to the users of modern field guides, notably L. aquifluus for L. helvus, L. mitissimus for L. aurantiacus, L. insulsus for L. zonarius and L. obnubilis for L. obscuratus. These changes seem unsatisfactory given the extensive consideration given by Heilmann-Clausen et al. and Basso who both rejected these proposed names (as has the new British checklist). Of the species with a particularly British interest, Derek Reid’s L. britannicus and L. mollis have been retained. L. scoticus has been rejected, but is only dealt with in an observation. Recent DNA analysis has confirmed this judgement, but would it not have been better retained at least as a variety of L. pubescens?. The treatment of the subsection Obscurantini is also interesting in that it reduces the three small species described growing under alder to a single species: L. obnubilis. It treats L. omphaliformis as a variety (var. radiatus) and relegates L. cyathuliformis to a footnote. This may well be the right judgement but it is a pity that it has not been more closely argued.
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Field Mycology Volume 6(4), October 2005 The publication of the Checklist of the British and Irish Basidiomycota reveals that there are seven additional species, such as L. violascens and L. salicis-herbaceae, now confirmed as British, that might helpfully have been added. One suspects that the lengthy delay between the preparation of the original text and its publication may be to blame. Volumes in the British Fungus Flora are always particularly useful to those mycologists wishing to identify and record British species because they contain excellent species descriptions and concentrate on British species.This volume is no exception and will help to encourage accurate identifications. At a very reasonable £14 including p & p and a copy of the BFF Colour Identification Chart, no British mycologist should be without the BFF volume 9 on Lactarius. Patrick Leonard
Checklist of the British & Irish Basidiomycota N.W. Legon and A. Henrici with P.J. Roberts, B.M. Spooner and R.Watling. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 1 84246 121 4 Softback £29 + p. & p. Available from www.kewbooks.com n 1960 the British Mycological Society published the New Check List of British Agarics and Boleti by R.W.G. Dennis, P.D. Orton and F.B. Hora. A little smaller in size than this magazine (B6), it consisted of 225 pages with an introduction, a list of the known taxa with synonyms and references to icones and an alphabetic list of specific, varietal and form epithets, many with accompanying notes.That volume has served the mycological community for over 40 years but, with the advances in our knowledge, changes in synonymy and many new species published every year it has become increasingly out of date. Now after five years in production we have a new checklist for perhaps the next 40 years… This time it is A4 in size and 517 pages in length. This checklist includes not just the agarics and boleti but also polypores, cyphelloid fungi, gastroid fungi, clavarioid fungi, hynoid fungi and jelly fungi as well as rust fungi, smuts and basidiomycetous yeasts. Principal synonyms are given as well as useful notes on habitat and distribution within the British Isles and icones. Notes on species, where necessary, are given directly below each entry, a much more user-friendly method than that used in the 1960 check list. A glance at the contents will reveal very great changes in species lists. The total
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first began to take an interest in the genus Lactarius over ten years ago; the only good key had been published by Pearson in 1950 and listed 53 species. There were disagreements about names but I was assured that all would be well as Ronnie Rayner’s volume would be published soon in the British Fungus Flora. In 1998 Heilmann-Clausen, Verbeken & Vesterholt brought out a volume on Lactarius in the Flora of Northern Europe series (FNE2), followed by Maria Theresa Basso in 1999 in the Fungi Europaei series. It is a tribute to the persistence of Roy Watling in particular that the BFF volume has now appeared as a timely tribute to its principal author Ronnie Rayner, who sadly died in the autumn of 2002. The book forms a companion volume to his Keys to the British species of Russula published by the BMS in 1985. “Lactarius” follows the familiar format of the British Fungus Flora and has a brief description of the genus followed by notes on collecting Lactarius and the key characters to be observed. The key provided covers all the species thought to be British at the time of writing. It uses macroscopic characters for the main steps and interestingly keys out some species at more than one point. It is a pity that the innovative approach used by Rayner in his Russula volume whereby a series of synoptic keys were given which could be entered at various points has not been followed through for Lactarius. The individual species descriptions are comprehensive and based largely on fresh specimens. An interesting innovation is the application of a number of new chemical tests which are consistently reported across the genus. An outline drawing of each species together with microscopic drawings of spores, cystidia and in some cases the cap cuticle, are to be found in separate sections towards the end of the book. It would have helped users a great deal if these had been integrated with the text. This volume of BFF has a species index on pages 136 and 137, not at the end of the book, but this is easy to remedy by photocopying these pages and pasting them at the end. Sixtyfour species are described including one completely new species: L. hyphoinflatus.This fungus closely resembles L. subdulcis, but is found under oak or birch and is so far only known from a single site in West Sussex. A number of the names adopted will be unfamiliar to the users of modern field guides, notably L. aquifluus for L. helvus, L. mitissimus for L. aurantiacus, L. insulsus for L. zonarius and L. obnubilis for L. obscuratus. These changes seem unsatisfactory given the extensive consideration given by Heilmann-Clausen et al. and Basso who both rejected these proposed names (as has the new British checklist). Of the species with a particularly British interest, Derek Reid’s L. britannicus and L. mollis have been retained. L. scoticus has been rejected, but is only dealt with in an observation. Recent DNA analysis has confirmed this judgement, but would it not have been better retained at least as a variety of L. pubescens?. The treatment of the subsection Obscurantini is also interesting in that it reduces the three small species described growing under alder to a single species: L. obnubilis. It treats L. omphaliformis as a variety (var. radiatus) and relegates L. cyathuliformis to a footnote. This may well be the right judgement but it is a pity that it has not been more closely argued.
I
141
Field Mycology Volume 6(4), October 2005 The publication of the Checklist of the British and Irish Basidiomycota reveals that there are seven additional species, such as L. violascens and L. salicis-herbaceae, now confirmed as British, that might helpfully have been added. One suspects that the lengthy delay between the preparation of the original text and its publication may be to blame. Volumes in the British Fungus Flora are always particularly useful to those mycologists wishing to identify and record British species because they contain excellent species descriptions and concentrate on British species.This volume is no exception and will help to encourage accurate identifications. At a very reasonable £14 including p & p and a copy of the BFF Colour Identification Chart, no British mycologist should be without the BFF volume 9 on Lactarius. Patrick Leonard
Checklist of the British & Irish Basidiomycota N.W. Legon and A. Henrici with P.J. Roberts, B.M. Spooner and R.Watling. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 1 84246 121 4 Softback £29 + p. & p. Available from www.kewbooks.com n 1960 the British Mycological Society published the New Check List of British Agarics and Boleti by R.W.G. Dennis, P.D. Orton and F.B. Hora. A little smaller in size than this magazine (B6), it consisted of 225 pages with an introduction, a list of the known taxa with synonyms and references to icones and an alphabetic list of specific, varietal and form epithets, many with accompanying notes.That volume has served the mycological community for over 40 years but, with the advances in our knowledge, changes in synonymy and many new species published every year it has become increasingly out of date. Now after five years in production we have a new checklist for perhaps the next 40 years… This time it is A4 in size and 517 pages in length. This checklist includes not just the agarics and boleti but also polypores, cyphelloid fungi, gastroid fungi, clavarioid fungi, hynoid fungi and jelly fungi as well as rust fungi, smuts and basidiomycetous yeasts. Principal synonyms are given as well as useful notes on habitat and distribution within the British Isles and icones. Notes on species, where necessary, are given directly below each entry, a much more user-friendly method than that used in the 1960 check list. A glance at the contents will reveal very great changes in species lists. The total
I
142