British Mycological Society

Last updated

British Mycological Society
Formation1896
Type Biology Society
Registration no.276503
Legal status Charity
Purpose
  • Mycological Study
  • Research
Headquarters Manchester, United Kingdom
Region served
United Kingdom
Official language
English
Activities
  • Research
  • Publications
  • Lectures
  • Events
Collections
Archives
Publications
President
J. Quinn
Website britmycolsoc.org.uk

The British Mycological Society is a learned society established in 1896 to promote the study of fungi. [1]

Contents

Formation

BMS Haslemere fungus foray, 1905 British Mycological Society 1905 a.jpg
BMS Haslemere fungus foray, 1905

The British Mycological Society (BMS) was formed by the combined efforts of two local societies: the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club of Hereford and the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union. The Curator of the Hereford Club, Dr. H. G. Bull, convinced the members in 1867 to undertake the particular study of mushrooms. While the mycological efforts of the Club diminished somewhat after Dr. Bull's death, the Union of Yorkshire founded its Mycological Committee in 1892. This Committee attracted the involvement of many eminent mycologists including George Edward Massee (1845–1917), James Needham (1849–1913), Charles Crossland (1844-1916), and Henry Thomas Soppitt (1843-1899). Mycologist Kathleen Sampson was a member for sixty years, as well as serving as president in 1938. [2]

The need for a national organisation and the need for a journal to publish their observations led Cooke, Rea, Massee, and other mycologists (including Charles Crossland and James Needham) to found the Society in 1896. The Society's founding officers were Rea (Secretary), Crossland (Treasurer), and Massee (President). The choice of the latter as President was based on his international reputation (with more than 250 mycological publications) and role as the mycologist at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew (where he replaced Cooke as mycologist in 1893). In 1897, Rea assumed the additional role of Treasurer, also continuing as Secretary (until 1918), and was also Editor (until 1930). [1] However, Massee and a number of Yorkshire mycologists soon left the BMS, preferring to remain with the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union. [3]

Membership

By 1903, the Society's Members numbered over a hundred, which had increased to over four hundred (by shortly after World War II), and had reached over two thousand by 2006. [1]

Before World War II, Honorary Membership was awarded to: [1]

Publications

From 1896, the Society began publishing its annual journal, Transactions of the British Mycological Society (1896–1989), which became Mycological Research (1989–2010) and was renamed Fungal Biology (2010).

In 1967, the Society began publishing the Bulletin of the British Mycological Society (1967–87), which was renamed The Mycologist (1987–2007) and later became Fungal Biology Reviews (2007). A new journal was also launched entitled Fungal Ecology.

In 2000, the Society began publishing the quarterly journal, Field Mycology (2000) for the study and identification of wild fungi.

Periodically, the Society also publishes symposia in the British Mycological Society Symposium Series on a particular theme. The first was Genetics and Physiology of Aspergillus, edited by John E. Smith and John A. Pateman (1977), and there have been twenty-four symposia published as of 2006. [1] The BMS is also responsible for the management of the FRDBI (Fungal Records Database of Britain & Ireland). [5] The FRDBI holds over 1.5m records and is a major resource for conservation and research purposes. [6]

The Society also publishes many other items, from fine art prints to illustrated pocket identification guides, as well as a range of curriculum resources for teachers. [1]


Activities

The Society's Mission Statement is to 'promote Fungal Science Internationally' with the objectives to:

  1. Encourage those interested in fungi and related organisms to join the Society and to take part in our events, whether in a professional or amateur capacity.
  2. Promote the recognition of fungal science in the UK and internationally.
  3. Support and grow the key areas of Society activities to promote further understanding of fungal science and to inspire future generations of mycologists.
  4. Support the Society's academic publications and other resources on fungal biology for the international community.
  5. Organise conferences, workshops and other activities supporting mycology.
  6. Promote networking across the fungal science community and maintain strong links with other relevant national and international learned societies and organisations.
  7. Ensure the Society's resources are utilised effectively to further fungal science.

Presidents

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mycology</span> Branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi

Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and infection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auriculariaceae</span> Family of fungi

The Auriculariaceae are a family of fungi in the order Auriculariales. Species within the family were formerly referred to the "heterobasidiomycetes" or "jelly fungi", since many have gelatinous basidiocarps that produce spores on septate basidia. Around 100 species are known worldwide. All are believed to be saprotrophic, most growing on dead wood. Fruit bodies of several Auricularia species are cultivated for food on a commercial scale, especially in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worthington George Smith</span> British botanist (1835–1917)

Worthington George Smith was an English cartoonist and illustrator, archaeologist, plant pathologist, and mycologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Edward Massee</span> British botanist (1850–1917)

George Edward Massee was an English mycologist, plant pathologist, and botanist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elsie Maud Wakefield</span> British mycologist

Elsie Maud Wakefield, OBE was an English mycologist and plant pathologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carleton Rea</span> English mycologist, botanist, and naturalist (1861–1946)

Carleton Rea was an English mycologist, botanist, and naturalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Leigh Williamson Eyre</span> British mycologist (1841–1914)

Reverend William Leigh Williamson Eyre was an English mycologist and naturalist.

<i>Fungal Biology</i> Scientific journal on Mycological research

Fungal Biology is a scientific journal that publishes peer-reviewed papers on all aspects of basic and applied research of the fungi, including lichens, yeasts, oomycetes, and slime moulds. A publication of the British Mycological Society, it was founded in 1896 as Transactions of the British Mycological Society (1896–1989) and was later titled Mycological Research (1989–2010). The founding editor was Carleton Rea (1896–1930).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Crossland</span> English mycologist (1844–1916)

Charles Crossland was an English mycologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Lister</span> English botanist (1830–1908)

Arthur Hugh Lister (1830–1908) was a wine merchant and botanist, known for his research on Mycetozoa also known as slime molds.

<i>Calonarius splendens</i> Species of fungus

Calonarius splendens is a species of fungus in the family Cortinariaceae. It is commonly known as the splendid webcap. The species is native to Europe where it has been implicated in poisonings resulting in kidney failure, though with milder symptoms than other deadly webcaps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lilian Hawker</span> British mycologist

Lilian Edith Hawker was a British mycologist, known for her work on fungal physiology, particularly spore production. She was an expert on British truffles, and also published in the fields of plant physiology and plant pathology. She was also known for her contributions to education in mycology. Most of her career was spent at the botany department of the Imperial College of Science and Technology (1932–45) and the University of Bristol (1945–73), where she held the chair in mycology (1965–73) and was dean of the science faculty (1970–73). She served as president of the British Mycological Society, and was elected an honorary member of that society and of the Mycological Society of America. She published an introduction to fungi and two books on fungal physiology, of which Physiology of Fungi (1950) was among the first to survey the field, and also co-edited two microbiology textbooks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Farrah</span> British grocer, confectioner, biologist and meteorologist

John Farrah, F.L.S., F.R.Met.S was a British grocer, confectioner, biologist and meteorologist from Harrogate, North Riding of Yorkshire, England. In the late 19th century he developed the business strategy for Farrah's toffee shop which he inherited from his family in Harrogate. He was made a fellow of the Meteorological Society in 1894. He was president of the botanical section of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union, working with Thomas Sheppard, George Edward Massee, William Eagle Clarke and Charles Crossland, and in 1903 discovered the mycological species Entoloma farrahi, which was named after him, although there has been some question as to its identity since then. He was a close friend of Harrogate historian William Grainge and for some years they were "constant companions", supporting each other in their work. The American mycologist George Francis Atkinson described him as a "great Yorkshire character". Farrah married three times, and had three children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. N. Cheesman</span>


William Norwood Cheesman was an English businessman and mycologist from Selby who contributed to studies on fungi and slime moulds as an amateur and founding member of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union and the British Mycological Society. He contributed principally as a collector with most species described by others including George Edward Massee. The fungal species Coprinus cheesmanii, Cyphella cheesmanii, and Verticicladium cheesmanii were named after him.

Henry Thomas Soppitt was an English mycologist, plant pathologist, botanist and former greengrocer turned drysalter. He was a close collaborator with Charles Crossland, James Needham, and George Massee and was the first person to show a heteroecious lifecycle in a Puccinia species. Soppitt was a foundational member of the British Mycological Society.

The Yorkshire Mycological Committee is a committee within the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union. First formed in 1892, it was the first permanent organisation dedicated to the study of fungi in Great Britain. It was the principal founding organisation of the British Mycological Society.

The Yorkshire Naturalists' Union is an association of amateur and professional naturalists covering a wide range of aspects of natural history. It is one of United Kingdom's oldest extant wildlife organisations and oldest natural history federation. Its Mycological Committee, founded in 1892, is the oldest permanent organisation dedicated to the study of fungi in Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Needham (mycologist)</span> English mycologist

James Needham was an English mycologist and iron moulder from Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire. He was a founding member of the British Mycological Society. Notable for his working-class status, Needham became one of the foremost collectors of fungi and bryophytes in the UK.

John Frederick Peberdy was a British mycologist, specializing in the biochemistry and genetics of fungi. He was a pioneer in research on fungal protoplasts.

Anthony "Tony" Peter John Trinci was a British mycologist, botanist, and microbiologist. He was a leading expert on fungi.

References

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