Brian Martin Spooner B.Sc., Ph.D. is an English mycologist who was head of mycology at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [1]
He was born in Rochford, Essex. in 1951. He obtained his first degree in 1972 from the University of London. [2] He joined the staff at the Herbarium, Kew in 1975 to undertake a study of ascomycetes under the guidance of Dr R W G Dennis, who had retired that year. He had a long term research project on the inoperculate Discomycetes of Australia. [3] He was promoted to Higher Scientific Officer in 1979 and awarded a Ph.D. from Reading University in 1985 for his thesis "Helotiales of Australasia". [4] [5] He was appointed head of mycology in 1998. [6]
He is the author of several books and over 200 research papers. [7] His main research interest was with the discomycetes, but he also did research on other ascomycetous groups, as well as other British fungi. His work at Kew additionally included routine identifications and curation of the Ascomycetes Reference Collection. He was responsible for moving the mycology collection from the herbarium to the Jodrell Laboratory. [8]
He has participated in field expeditions and biodiversity projects in Malaysia and Australia. [8]
He regularly leads fungus forays for the British Mycological Society, on Box Hill, [9] and in Surrey. [10]
In 1990 he was honoured by a new genus named for him, Spooneromyces. [11]
He retired in 2011 after 36 years at Kew. [12]
He married Linda Strang in 1975 and lives in West Molesey.
Helotiales of Australasia: Geoglossaceae, Orbiliaceae, Sclerotiniaceae, Hyaloscyphaceae. Bibliotheca Mycologica, 116. Brian Spooner. 1987. Gebruder Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung ISBN 9783443590178
Mushrooms: the new compact study guide and identifier. David N. Pegler, Brian Spooner, 1994. ISBN 9780785800484
British Puffballs, Earthstars and Stinkhorns; an account of the British gasteroid fungi. David N. Pegler, Brian Spooner, Thomas Læssøe. 1995. ISBN 9780947643812
Mushrooms & Toadstools of Britain and Europe. Brian Spooner. 1996. Harper Collins ISBN 9780002200073
British Chanterelles and Tooth Fungi. David N. Pegler, Peter Roberts, Brian Spooner 1997. ISBN 9781900347150
Henosepilachna argus (Geoffroy) (Coccinellidae, Epilachninae), a phytophagous ladybird new to the U.K., breeding at Molesey, Surrey. Ian S. Menzies & Brian M. Spooner. 2000. The Coleopterist 9(1) 1-4
On the unreliability of published DNA sequences. Bridge PD, Roberts PJ, Spooner BM, Panchal G. 2003. New Phytologist 160(1):43-48. doi : 10.1046/j.1469-8137.2003.00861.x.
Richard William George Dennis (1910–2003): Mycologist and savant. Spooner, B. & Roberts, P. (2004). Mycological Research, 108(9), 1097-1104. doi : 10.1017/S0953756204000711
Mushrooms & Toadstools: Get to Know the Natural World (Collins Wild Guide). Brian Spooner. 2005. ISBN 9780007191505
Checklist of the British and Irish Basidiomycota. G. E. Wickens, N. W. Legon, A. Henrici, P. J. Roberts, B. M. Spooner, R. Watling, Royal Botanic Gardens. 2005. ISBN 9781842461211
Fungi (Collins New Naturalist #96). Brian Spooner, Peter Roberts. 2007. Harper Collins ISBN 9780002201520
Checklist of the British & Irish Basidiomycota. Nick Legon, Alick Henrici, Peter Roberts, Brian Spooner, Roy Watling 2014. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
J. M. Despréaux' lichens from the Canary Islands and West Africa: an account of a 19th century collection found in an English archive. Begoña Aguirre-Hudson 1, Isabella Whitworth, Brian M Spooner. 2011. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 166(2) 185–211,
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as toxicity or infection.
Helotiales is an order of the class Leotiomycetes within the division Ascomycota. According to a 2008 estimate, the order contains 10 families, 501 genera, and at least 3881 species.
The Fungi of Australia form an enormous and phenomenally diverse group, a huge range of freshwater, marine and terrestrial habitats with many ecological roles, for example as saprobes, parasites and mutualistic symbionts of algae, animals and plants, and as agents of biodeterioration. Where plants produce, and animals consume, the fungi recycle, and as such they ensure the sustainability of ecosystems.
Spathularia flavida, commonly known as the yellow earth tongue, the yellow fan, or the fairy fan, is an ascomycete fungus found in coniferous forests of Asia, Europe and North America. It produces a small, fan- or spoon-shaped fruit body with a flat, wavy or lobed cream to yellow colored "head" raised on a white to cream stalk. The height is usually approximately 2–5 cm, and up to 8 cm. The fungus fruits on the ground in mosses, forest duff or humus, and fruit bodies may occur singly, in large groups, or in fairy rings. The spores produced by the fungus are needle-like, and up to 95 micrometres long. Several varieties have been described that differ largely in their microscopic characteristics. S. flavida has been described by authorities variously as inedible, of unknown edibility, or edible but tough.
Orson Knapp Miller Jr. was an American mycologist. He published numerous papers in mycology and was responsible for the naming of many taxa, as well as being one of the authors erecting the genus Chroogomphus. He described Omphalotus olivascens, several species of Amanita, and the ghoul fungus Hebeloma aminophilum.
Clathrus ruber is a species of fungus in the family Phallaceae, and the type species of the genus Clathrus. It is commonly known as the latticed stinkhorn, the basket stinkhorn, or the red cage, alluding to the striking fruit bodies that are shaped somewhat like a round or oval hollow sphere with interlaced or latticed branches. The fungus is saprobic, feeding off decaying woody plant material, and is often found alone or in groups in leaf litter on garden soil, grassy places, or on woodchip garden mulches. Although considered primarily a European species, C. ruber has been introduced to other areas, and now has a wide distribution that includes all continents except Antarctica. The species was illustrated in the scientific literature during the 16th century, but was not officially described until 1729.
Verpa bohemica is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae. Commonly known as the early morel or the wrinkled thimble-cap. The mushroom has a pale yellow or brown thimble-shaped cap—2 to 4 cm in diameter by 2 to 5 cm long—that has a surface wrinkled and ribbed with brain-like convolutions. The cap hangs from the top of a lighter-colored, brittle stem that measures up to 12 cm long by 1 to 2.5 cm thick. Microscopically, the mushroom is distinguished by its large spores, typically 60–80 by 15–18 µm, and the presence of only two spores per ascus.
Handkea is a genus of puffball mushrooms in the family Agaricaceae. In 1989, German mycologist Hanns Kreisel described the genus Handkea to include species of Calvatia with distinct microscopic features, including a unique type of capillitium, with curvy slits instead of the usual pores. Although accepted by some authors, the genus concept has been rejected by others.
Dicephalospora is a genus of fungi in the family Sclerotiniaceae. The genus was circumscribed by mycologist Brian Spooner in 1987.
Worthington George Smith was an English cartoonist and illustrator, archaeologist, plant pathologist, and mycologist.
Richard William George Dennis, PhD, was an English mycologist and plant pathologist.
Derek Agutter Reid was an English mycologist.
Charles Crossland was an English mycologist.
Peziza domiciliana, commonly known as the domicile cup fungus, is a species of fungus in the genus Peziza, family Pezizaceae. Described by English mycologist Mordecai Cubitt Cooke, the fungus grows on rotten wood, drywall/plasterboard, and plaster in homes, damp cellars, and basements. It is known from Asia, Europe, North America, and Antarctica.
Trichoglossum is a genus of fungi in the family Geoglossaceae. They are commonly called hairy earth tongues. The type species is Trichoglossum hirsutum.
Geoglossum is a genus of fungi in the family Geoglossaceae. They are commonly called earth tongues. The type species is Geoglossum glabrum. Geoglossum species are distinguished from the related genus Trichoglossum by the lack of setae on the spore bearing surface. Geoglossum species are characterized by dark, club-shaped, terrestrial ascocarps with a fertile hymenium continuing downward from the apex of the ascocarp along the stipe, eventually intergrading with a sterile stipe. The ascospores of Geoglossum range from translucent to dark brown, and are fusiform, and multiseptate. Identification of species is based on the gross morphology of the ascocarp, color and septation of the ascospores, and shape and ornamentation of the paraphyses.
Glutinoglossum glutinosum, commonly known as the viscid black earth tongue or the glutinous earthtongue, is a species of fungus in the family Geoglossaceae. Widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, it has been found in northern Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Although previously thought to exist in Australasia, collections made from these locations have since been referred to new species. G. glutinosum is a saprophytic species that grows on soil in moss or in grassy areas. The smooth, nearly black, club-shaped fruitbodies grow to heights ranging from 1.5 to 5 cm. The head is up to 0.7 cm (0.3 in) long, and the stipes are sticky. Several other black earth tongue species are quite similar in external appearance, and many can be reliably distinguished only by examining differences in microscopic characteristics, such as spores, asci, and paraphyses. First described in 1796 as a species of Geoglossum, the fungus has gone through several changes of genera in its taxonomic history. It was placed in its current genus, Glutinoglossum, in 2013.
Tylopilus funerarius is a bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. Found in Singapore, it was described as new to science in 1909 by English mycologist George Edward Massee. He described it as a "sombre, uninviting species, characterised by brownish-black velvety pileus and brown tube and pores", and considered it similar in appearance to Boletus chrysenteron. The species was transferred to the genus Tylopilus in 1981.
Hydnellum scrobiculatum, commonly known as the ridged tooth, is a tooth fungus in the family Bankeraceae. Widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, it is found in Asia, Europe, and North America.
David Pegler is a British mycologist. Until his retirement in 1998, he served as the Head of Mycology and assistant keeper of the herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. Pegler received his BSc from London University in 1960, thereafter studying tropical Agaricales with R.W.G. Dennis as his graduate supervisor. He earned a master's degree in 1966, and a PhD in 1974. His graduate thesis was on agarics of east Africa, later published as A preliminary agaric flora of East Africa in 1977. In 1989, London University awarded him a DSc for his research into the Agaricales. Several fungal taxa have been named in his honour:
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