Rolf Singer was a German-born mycologist and one of the most important taxonomists of gilled mushrooms (agarics) in the 20th century.
The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus Agaricus, as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae.
The Pluteaceae are a family of small to medium-sized mushrooms which have free gill attachment and pink spores. Members of Pluteaceae can be mistaken for members of Entolomataceae, but can be distinguished by the angled spores and attached gills of the Entolomataceae. The four genera in the Pluteaceae comprise the widely distributed Volvariella and Pluteus, the rare Chamaeota, and Volvopluteus, which was newly described in 2011 as a result of molecular analysis. The Dictionary of the Fungi estimates there are 364 species in the family.
Camarophyllopsis is a genus of agarics in the family Clavariaceae. Basidiocarps are dull-coloured and have dry caps, rather distant, decurrent lamellae, white spores, and smooth, ringless stems. In Europe species are characteristic of old, unimproved grasslands which are a declining habitat, making them of conservation concern.
Melanoleuca is a poorly known genus of saprotrophic mushrooms traditionally classified in the family Tricholomataceae. Most are small to medium sized, white, brown, ocher or gray with a cylindrical to subcylindrical stipe and white to pale yellowish gills. The basidiospores are ellipsoid and ornamented with amyloid warts. Melanoleuca is considered a difficult group to study due to their macroscopic similarities among species and the need of a thorough microscopic analysis to separate species. DNA studies have determined that this genus is closely related to Amanita and Pluteus and that it does not belong to the family Tricholomataceae.
Crepidotus is a genus of fungi in the family Crepidotaceae. Species of Crepidotus all have small, convex to fan-shaped sessile caps and grow on wood or plant debris. The genus has been studied extensively, and monographs of the North American, European and Neotropical species have been published.
Volvopluteus is a genus of small to medium-sized or big saprotrophic mushrooms growing worldwide. The genus has been segregated from Volvariella with which it shares some morphological characteristics such as the presence of a volva and a pink to pink-brown spore print. Phylogenetic analyses of DNA data have shown that Volvopluteus is closely related to Pluteus and both genera currently are classified in the family Pluteaceae, while Volvariella is not closely related to either genus and its position in the Agaricales is still uncertain.
Meinhard Michael Moser was an Austrian mycologist. His work principally concerned the taxonomy, chemistry, and toxicity of the gilled mushrooms (Agaricales), especially those of the genus Cortinarius, and the ecology of ectomycorrhizal relationships. His contributions to the Kleine Kryptogamenflora von Mitteleuropa series of mycological guidebooks were well regarded and widely used. In particular, his 1953 Blätter- und Bauchpilze [The Gilled and Gasteroid Fungi ], which became known as simply "Moser", saw several editions in both the original German and in translation. Other important works included a 1960 monograph on the genus Phlegmacium and a 1975 study of members of Cortinarius, Dermocybe, and Stephanopus in South America, co-authored with the mycologist Egon Horak.
Volvariella surrecta, commonly known as the piggyback rosegill, is an agaric fungus in the family Pluteaceae. Although rare, the species is widely distributed, having been reported from Asia, North America, Northern Africa, Europe, and New Zealand. The fungus grows as a parasite on the fruit bodies of other gilled mushrooms, usually Clitocybe nebularis. V. surrecta mushrooms have white or greyish silky-hairy caps up to 8 cm (3.1 in) in diameter, and white gills that turns pink in maturity. The stipe, also white, is up to 9 cm (3.5 in) long, and has a sack-like volva at its base.
Volvariella bombycina, commonly known as the silky volvariella, silky sheath, silky rosegill, silver-silk straw mushroom, or tree mushroom, is a species of edible mushroom in the family Pluteaceae. It is an uncommon but widespread species, having been reported from Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Europe, and North America. The fruit body (mushroom) begins developing in a thin, egg-like sac. This ruptures and the stem expands quickly, leaving the sac at the base of the stem as a volva. The cap, which can attain a diameter of up to 20 centimetres, is white to slightly yellowish and covered with silky hairs. On the underside of the cap are closely spaced gills, free from attachment to the stem, and initially white before turning pink as the spores mature. The mushroom grows singly or in clusters, often appearing in old knotholes and wounds in elms and maples. V. bombycina contains compounds with antibacterial properties.
Pluteus phaeocyanopus is an agaric fungus in the family Pluteaceae. Described as a new species in 2010, it has only been collected from California, where it grows singularly or in groups on the decaying wood of oak. The fruit body has a smooth brown cap measuring 2–4 cm (0.8–1.6 in) in diameter. The stipe is 2–5 cm (0.8–2.0 in) long by 0.4–0.8 cm (0.16–0.31 in) thick, and roughly equal in width throughout. It is whitish but becomes grayish-green near the base. The thin and fragile gills are free from attachment to the stipe, close to somewhat distantly placed, and interspersed with several tiers of lamellulae. The flesh has no distinctive taste or odor. The spores are spherical or nearly so and measure 6.2–8.4 by 5.7–7.9 μm.
Volvopluteus earlei is a species of mushroom in the family Pluteaceae. It was originally described in 1911 by American mycologist William Alphonso Murrill as Volvariopsis earlei, based on collections made in a Cuban banana field. The fungus was later shuffled to the genera Volvaria and Volvariella before molecular studies placed it in Volvopluteus, a genus newly described in 2011.
Egon Horak is an Austrian mycologist who has described more than 1000 species of fungi, including many from the Southern Hemisphere, particularly New Zealand and South America. He was an executive editor of the scientific journal Sydowia from 1975 to 1989, and a member of the editorial board afterwards.
