Kari Korhonen (born July 24, 1943 in Sotkamo) is a Finnish mycologist and forest pathologist, known for his studies of fungi causing root rot.
Korhonen graduated as a biologist from the University of Helsinki in 1968. He made his career as a researcher at the Finnish Forest Research Institute in Helsinki, beginning in 1973. From the start his research concentrated on the forest pathogen fungi then known as Heterobasidion annosum and Armillaria mellea . During his career over 40 years he collected more than 4000 isolates of these species in Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, Greece, USA, Canada, Estonia, Belarus, Siberia and China.
Initially, following Veikko Hintikka's discovery of a technique to distinguish between Armillaria species by growing them together as single spore isolates on petri dishes and observing changes in the morphology of the cultures, [1] Korhonen showed in 1978 that the European Armillaria mellea species complex could be separated into five reproductively isolated species. [2] Similarly he studied the sexual incompatibility of bipolar systems also in Heterobasidion . [3] As result of these studies the genus Heterobasidion was divided into three species while Armillaria has by now been divided into more than 40 species.
Korhonen has published more than 50 scientific papers in international journals and edited books, almost all dealing with root rot fungi and their antagonists. For his pioneering work, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Monaco of Bavaria in 1992. Fungal species named in honor of Korhonen include Entoloma korhonenii (Noordeloos 2004) [4] and Hygrophorus korhonenii (Harmaja 1985). [5]
Armillaria mellea, commonly known as honey fungus, is an edible basidiomycete fungus in the genus Armillaria. It is a plant pathogen and part of a cryptic species complex of closely related and morphologically similar species. It causes Armillaria root rot in many plant species and produces mushrooms around the base of trees it has infected. The symptoms of infection appear in the crowns of infected trees as discoloured foliage, reduced growth, dieback of the branches and death. The mushrooms are edible but some people may be intolerant to them. This species is capable of producing light via bioluminescence in its mycelium.
Armillaria luteobubalina, commonly known as the Australian honey fungus, is a species of mushroom in the family Physalacriaceae. Widely distributed in southern Australia, the fungus is responsible for a disease known as Armillaria root rot, a primary cause of Eucalyptus tree death and forest dieback. It is the most pathogenic and widespread of the six Armillaria species found in Australia. The fungus has also been collected in Argentina and Chile. Fruit bodies have cream- to tan-coloured caps that grow up to 10 cm (4 in) in diameter and stems that measure up to 20 cm (8 in) long by 1.5 cm (1 in) thick. The fruit bodies, which appear at the base of infected trees and other woody plants in autumn (March–April), are edible, but require cooking to remove the bitter taste. The fungus is dispersed through spores produced on gills on the underside of the caps, and also by growing vegetatively through the root systems of host trees. The ability of the fungus to spread vegetatively is facilitated by an aerating system that allows it to efficiently diffuse oxygen through rhizomorphs—rootlike structures made of dense masses of hyphae.
Abundisporus is a small genus of poroid fungi currently with seven recognized species. They differ from other polypores in having coloured rather than hyaline spores.
The Fomitopsidaceae are a family of fungi in the order Polyporales. Most species are parasitic on woody plants, and tend to cause brown rots. The name comes from Fomitopsis + -aceae.
Daedaleopsis is a genus of fungi in the family Polyporaceae. The name Daedaleopsis is a reference to Daedalus, the labyrinth-maker of myth. Similarly, the maze-like pattern of pores is taxonomically described as being daedaloid. DNA was recovered and sequenced from fragments of a nearly 7000-year-old fruit body of D. tricolor found in an early Neolithic village in Rome.
Postia is a genus of brown rot fungi in the family Fomitopsidaceae.
Haploporus is a genus of poroid fungi in the family Polyporaceae.
Antrodia is a genus of fungi in the family Fomitopsidaceae. Antrodia species have fruit bodies that typically resupinate, with the hymenium exposed to the outside; the edges may be turned so as to form narrow brackets. Most species are found in temperate and boreal forests, and cause brown rot.
Armillaria gallica is a species of honey mushroom in the family Physalacriaceae of the order Agaricales. The species is a common and ecologically important wood-decay fungus that can live as a saprobe, or as an opportunistic parasite in weakened tree hosts to cause root or butt rot. It is found in temperate regions of Asia, North America, and Europe. The species forms fruit bodies singly or in groups in soil or rotting wood. The fungus has been inadvertently introduced to South Africa. Armillaria gallica has had a confusing taxonomy, due in part to historical difficulties encountered in distinguishing between similar Armillaria species. The fungus received international attention in the early 1990s when an individual colony living in a Michigan forest was reported to cover an area of 15 hectares, weigh at least 9.5 tonnes, and be 1,500 years old. This individual is popularly known as the "humongous fungus", and is a tourist attraction and inspiration for an annual mushroom-themed festival in Crystal Falls. Recent studies have revised the fungus's age to 2,500 years and its size to about 400 tonnes, four times the original estimate.
Ceriporia is a widely distributed genus of crust fungi.
Antrodiella is a genus of fungi in the family Steccherinaceae of the order Polyporales.
Gelatoporia is a fungal genus in the family Gelatoporiaceae. This is a monotypic genus, containing the single widely distributed species Gelatoporia subvermispora. The genus was circumscribed in 1985 by Finnish mycologist Tuomo Niemelä to contain poroid crust fungi with a monomitic hyphal structure, clamped hyphae, and producing white rot.
Oligoporus is a genus of fungi in the family Polyporaceae. The genus was circumscribed by German mycologist Julius Oscar Brefeld in 1888 with Oligoporus farinosus as the type. This species is currently known as Postia rennyi. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek words ὀλίγος ("few") and πόρος ("pore").
Skeletocutis is a genus of about 40 species of poroid fungi in the family Polyporaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, although most species are found in the Northern Hemisphere. It causes a white rot in a diverse array of woody substrates, and the fruit bodies grow as a crust on the surface of the decaying wood. Sometimes the edges of the crust are turned outward to form rudimentary bracket-like caps.
Heterobasidion is a genus of basidiomycetes in the family of Bondarzewiaceae. Species in this genus include tree decay fungi that may be pathogenic and cause deterioration of tree health including mortality. Fungi in the genus produce shelf-like polyporous fruiting bodies that release spores from pores. Mating studies in the late twentieth century and genetic studies in the early twenty-first century have led to description of several new species and replacement of some of the original names. As a result, two former Heterobasidion species, H. annosum and H. insulare, are now recognized to each comprise multiple distinct species.
Clitocybe subcordispora is a rare species of agaric fungus in the family Tricholomataceae. Found in northern Europe, it was described as new to science in 1969 by Finnish mycologist Harri Harmaja. It is similar to species in the Clitocybe metachroa complex, but can be distinguished from them by its smaller spores, which measure 4.5–6.0 by 3.0–4.0 µm.
Inocutis is a genus of nine species of polypore fungi in the family Hymenochaetaceae.
Skeletocutis brevispora is a species of poroid crust fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It was described as new to science in 1998 by Finnish mycologist Tuomo Niemelä.
Skeletocutis biguttulata is a species of poroid fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It was first described scientifically by Swedish mycologist Lars Romell in 1932. Tuomo Niemelä redescribed and illustrated the fungus in 1998, and explained that collections of this fungus had previously been attributed to the related Skeletocutis subincarnata. S. biguttulata may be distinguished from the latter fungus by its biguttulate spores, more regularly arranged pores, and the cracking pore surface seen in older specimens.