1.
Taxonomy (biology)
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Taxonomy is the science of defining groups of biological organisms on the basis of shared characteristics and giving names to those groups. The exact definition of taxonomy varies from source to source, but the core of the remains, the conception, naming. There is some disagreement as to whether biological nomenclature is considered a part of taxonomy, the broadest meaning of taxonomy is used here. The word taxonomy was introduced in 1813 by Candolle, in his Théorie élémentaire de la botanique, the term alpha taxonomy is primarily used today to refer to the discipline of finding, describing, and naming taxa, particularly species. In earlier literature, the term had a different meaning, referring to morphological taxonomy, ideals can, it may be said, never be completely realized. They have, however, a value of acting as permanent stimulants. Some of us please ourselves by thinking we are now groping in a beta taxonomy, turrill thus explicitly excludes from alpha taxonomy various areas of study that he includes within taxonomy as a whole, such as ecology, physiology, genetics, and cytology. He further excludes phylogenetic reconstruction from alpha taxonomy, thus, Ernst Mayr in 1968 defined beta taxonomy as the classification of ranks higher than species. This activity is what the term denotes, it is also referred to as beta taxonomy. How species should be defined in a group of organisms gives rise to practical and theoretical problems that are referred to as the species problem. The scientific work of deciding how to define species has been called microtaxonomy, by extension, macrotaxonomy is the study of groups at higher taxonomic ranks, from subgenus and above only, than species. While some descriptions of taxonomic history attempt to date taxonomy to ancient civilizations, earlier works were primarily descriptive, and focused on plants that were useful in agriculture or medicine. There are a number of stages in scientific thinking. Early taxonomy was based on criteria, the so-called artificial systems. Later came systems based on a complete consideration of the characteristics of taxa, referred to as natural systems, such as those of de Jussieu, de Candolle and Bentham. The publication of Charles Darwins Origin of Species led to new ways of thinking about classification based on evolutionary relationships and this was the concept of phyletic systems, from 1883 onwards. This approach was typified by those of Eichler and Engler, the advent of molecular genetics and statistical methodology allowed the creation of the modern era of phylogenetic systems based on cladistics, rather than morphology alone. Taxonomy has been called the worlds oldest profession, and naming and classifying our surroundings has likely been taking place as long as mankind has been able to communicate
2.
Fungus
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A fungus is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from the other eukaryotic life kingdoms of plants, a characteristic that places fungi in a different kingdom from plants, bacteria and some protists, is chitin in their cell walls. Similar to animals, fungi are heterotrophs, they acquire their food by absorbing dissolved molecules, growth is their means of mobility, except for spores, which may travel through the air or water. Fungi are the principal decomposers in ecological systems and this fungal group is distinct from the structurally similar myxomycetes and oomycetes. The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology, in the past, mycology was regarded as a branch of botany, although it is now known fungi are genetically more closely related to animals than to plants. Abundant worldwide, most fungi are inconspicuous because of the size of their structures. Fungi include symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi and they may become noticeable when fruiting, either as mushrooms or as molds. Fungi perform a role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling. Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of antibiotics, Fungi are also used as biological pesticides to control weeds, plant diseases and insect pests. Many species produce bioactive compounds called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and polyketides, the fruiting structures of a few species contain psychotropic compounds and are consumed recreationally or in traditional spiritual ceremonies. Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans, losses of crops due to fungal diseases or food spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies. The fungus kingdom encompasses a diversity of taxa with varied ecologies, life cycle strategies. However, little is known of the biodiversity of Kingdom Fungi. Advances in molecular genetics have opened the way for DNA analysis to be incorporated into taxonomy, phylogenetic studies published in the last decade have helped reshape the classification within Kingdom Fungi, which is divided into one subkingdom, seven phyla, and ten subphyla. The English word fungus is directly adopted from the Latin fungus, used in the writings of Horace, a group of all the fungi present in a particular area or geographic region is known as mycobiota, e. g. the mycobiota of Ireland. Like plants, fungi grow in soil and, in the case of mushrooms, form conspicuous fruit bodies. The fungi are now considered a kingdom, distinct from both plants and animals, from which they appear to have diverged around one billion years ago. Fungi have membrane-bound cytoplasmic organelles such as mitochondria, sterol-containing membranes and they have a characteristic range of soluble carbohydrates and storage compounds, including sugar alcohols, disaccharides, and polysaccharides
3.
Agaricales
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The fungal order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The order has 33 extant families,413 genera, and over 13000 described species and they range from the ubiquitous common mushroom to the deadly destroying angel and the hallucinogenic fly agaric to the bioluminescent jack-o-lantern mushroom. In his three volumes of Systema Mycologicum published between 1821 and 1832, Elias Fries put almost all of the fleshy, gill-forming mushrooms in the genus Agaricus and he organized the large genus into tribes, the names of many of which still exist as common genera of today. Fries later elevated several of these tribes to generic level, but later authors—including Gillet, Karsten, Kummer, Quélet, Fries based his classification on macroscopic characters of the fruit bodies and color of the spore print. His system had been used as it had the advantage that many genera could be readily identified based on characters observable in the field. Friess classification was later challenged when microscopic studies of basidiocarp structure, initiated by Fayod and Patouillard, singer treated three major groups within the Agaricales sensu lato, the Agaricales sensu stricto, Boletineae, and Russulales. These groups are still accepted by modern treatments based on DNA analysis, as the clade, bolete clade. Molecular phylogenetics research has demonstrated that the clade is roughly equivalent to Singers Agaricales sensu stricto. The analysis showed that most of the species tested could be grouped into six clades that were named the Agaricoid, Tricholomatoid, Marasmioid, Pluteoid, Hygrophoroid and Plicaturopsidoid clades. Some notable fungi with gill-like structures, such as chanterelles, have long recognized as being substantially different from usual Agaricales. Also, some quite distinctive fungi, the puffballs, and some clavaroid fungi, e. g. Typhula. The term agaric had traditionally referred to Agaricales, which were defined as exactly those fungi with gills, given the discoveries described above, those two categories are not synonymous. Agarics are ubiquitous, being found across all continents, most are terrestrial, their habitats including all types of woodland and grassland, varying largely from one genus to another. Agarics were long thought to be terrestrial, until the 2005 discovery of Psathyrella aquatica. Agaricals are known from five monotypic genera found fossilized in amber, the oldest records are from two Cretaceous age genera, the Albian age Palaeoagaracites antiquus from Burmese amber and the slightly younger Turonian New Jersey Amber species Archaeomarasmius leggeti. The three other species, Aureofungus yaniguaensis, Coprinites dominicana and Protomycena electra are known from specimens found in the Dominican amber mines of Hispaniola. Basidiocarps of the agarics are typically fleshy, with a stipe, often called a stem or stalk, a pileus and lamellae and this is the stereotypical structure of a mushroom. The fungus fruit body is the stage of the life cycle
4.
Hymenium
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The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, cystidia are often important for microscopic identification. The subhymenium consists of the hyphae from which the cells of the hymenium grow, beneath which is the hymenophoral trama. The position of the hymenium is traditionally the first characteristic used in the classification and identification of mushrooms, below are some examples of the diverse types which exist among the macroscopic Basidiomycota and Ascomycota. In agarics the hymenium is on the faces of the gills. In boletes it is in a mass of downward-pointing tubes. In stinkhorns it develops internally and then is exposed in the form of a foul-smelling gel, in cup fungi, it is on the concave surface of the cup. In teeth fungi, it grows on the outside of tooth-like spines, régis Courtecuisse, Bernard Duhem, Guide des champignons de France et dEurope
5.
Parasitism
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In biology/ecology, parasitism is a non-mutual relationship between species, where one species, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred primarily to organisms visible to the naked eye, Parasites can be microparasites, which are typically smaller, such as protozoa, viruses, and bacteria. Examples of parasites include the plants mistletoe and cuscuta, and animals such as hookworms, unlike predators, parasites typically do not kill their host, are generally much smaller than their host, and will often live in or on their host for an extended period. Both are special cases of consumer-resource interactions, Parasites show a high degree of specialization, and reproduce at a faster rate than their hosts. Classic examples of parasitism include interactions between vertebrate hosts and tapeworms, flukes, the Plasmodium species, and fleas, parasitism differs from the parasitoid relationship in that parasitoids generally kill their hosts. Parasites reduce host biological fitness by general or specialized pathology, such as parasitic castration and impairment of secondary sex characteristics, Parasites increase their own fitness by exploiting hosts for resources necessary for their survival, e. g. food, water, heat, habitat, and transmission. Although parasitism applies unambiguously to many cases, it is part of a continuum of types of interactions between species, rather than an exclusive category, in many cases, it is difficult to demonstrate harm to the host. In others, there may be no apparent specialization on the part of the parasite, coined in English in 1611, the word parasitism comes from the Greek παρά + σιτισμός feeding, fattening. Parasites are classified based on their interactions with their hosts and on their life cycles, an obligate parasite is totally dependent on the host to complete its life cycle, while a facultative parasite is not. A direct parasite has one host while an indirect parasite has multiple hosts. For indirect parasites, there always be a definitive host. Parasites that live on the outside of the host, either on the skin or the outgrowths of the skin, are called ectoparasites and those that live inside the host are called endoparasites. Endoparasites can exist in one of two forms, intercellular parasites or intracellular parasites, intracellular parasites, such as protozoa, bacteria or viruses, tend to rely on a third organism, which is generally known as the carrier or vector. The vector does the job of transmitting them to the host, an example of this interaction is the transmission of malaria, caused by a protozoan of the genus Plasmodium, to humans by the bite of an anopheline mosquito. Those parasites living in a position, being half-ectoparasites and half-endoparasites, are called mesoparasites. An epiparasite is one that feeds on another parasite and this relationship is also sometimes referred to as hyperparasitism, exemplified by a protozoan living in the digestive tract of a flea living on a dog. Social parasites take advantage of interactions between members of social organisms such as ants, termites, and bumblebees, an extreme example of social parasitism is the ant species of Tetramorium inquilinum of the Alps, which spend their whole lives on the back of Tetramorium host ants. With tiny and deprecated bodies they have evolved for one single task, if they fall off, they most likely would not have the strength to climb back on top of another ant, and eventually they will die
6.
Edible mushroom
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Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruit bodies of several species of macrofungi. They can appear either below ground or above ground where they may be picked by hand, edibility may be defined by criteria that include absence of poisonous effects on humans and desirable taste and aroma. Edible mushrooms are consumed for their value and they are occasionally consumed for their supposed medicinal value. Mushrooms consumed by those practicing folk medicine are known as medicinal mushrooms, edible mushrooms include many fungal species that are either harvested wild or cultivated. Easily cultivatable and common wild mushrooms are available in markets. Some preparations may render certain poisonous mushrooms fit for consumption, before assuming that any wild mushroom is edible, it should be identified. Accurate determination and proper identification of a species is the safe way to ensure edibility. Some mushrooms that are edible for most people can cause reactions in some individuals. Great care should therefore be taken when eating any fungus for the first time and it is therefore better to eat only a few, easily recognizable species, than to experiment indiscriminately. Moreover, even species of mushrooms that normally are edible, may be dangerous, mycophagy /maɪˈkɒfədʒi/, the act of consuming mushrooms, dates back to ancient times. The Chinese value mushrooms for medicinal properties as well as for food, ancient Romans and Greeks, particularly the upper classes, used mushrooms for culinary purposes. Food tasters were employed by Roman emperors to ensure that mushrooms were safe to eat, mushrooms are also easily preserved, and historically have provided additional nutrition over winter. Mushroom cultivation has a history, with over twenty species commercially cultivated. Mushrooms are cultivated in at least 60 countries with China, the United States, Netherlands, France, a fraction of the many fungi consumed by humans are currently cultivated and sold commercially. Some species are difficult to cultivate, others have not yet been successfully cultivated, some of these species are harvested from the wild, and can be found in markets. When in season they can be purchased fresh, and many species are sold dried as well and it also known as the king bolete, and is renowned for its delicious flavor. It is sought after worldwide, and can be found in a variety of culinary dishes, cantharellus cibarius, The yellow chanterelle is one of the best and most easily recognizable mushrooms, and can be found in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. There are poisonous mushrooms which resemble it, though these can be distinguished if one is familiar with the chanterelles identifying features
7.
Mushroom hunting
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Mushroom hunting, Houby hunting, mushrooming, mushroom picking, mushroom foraging, and similar terms describe the activity of gathering mushrooms in the wild, typically for eating. A large number of species are favored for eating by mushroom hunters. The king bolete is a popular delicacy, sulphur shelf is often gathered because it occurs in bulk, recurs year after year, is easily identified, and has a wide variety of culinary uses. Many field guides on mushrooms are available, but the ability to identify and prepare edible mushrooms is often passed down through generations, identification is not the only element of mushroom hunting that takes practice, knowing where and when to search does as well. Most mushroom species require specific conditions. Some only grow at the base of a type of tree. Finding a desired species that is known to grow in a region can be a challenge. A Czech adage warns that všechny houby jsou jedlé, ale některé jenom jednou, translated, that every mushroom is edible, but some only once. Some mushrooms are deadly or extremely hazardous when consumed, some that are not deadly can nevertheless cause permanent organ damage. Not gathering mushrooms that are difficult to identify and this applies especially to the mushrooms of the genus Amanita and Cortinarius and little brown mushrooms. Consuming only an amount the first time a new species is tried. People react differently to different mushrooms, and all species can cause an adverse reaction in a few individuals. Little brown mushrooms refers to any of a number of small, dull-coloured agaric species. As a result, LBMs typically range from difficult to impossible for mushroom hunters to identify, for mycologists, LBMs are the equivalent of LBJs and DYCs that are the bane of ornithologists and botanists, respectively. Big white mushroom is sometimes used to describe groups of difficult to identify larger and paler agarics. The Amanita muscarias psychotropic properties have been used by shamans in Siberia in their rituals. However, its use for such purposes today is very rare, instead, the Psilocybe semilanceata is sought after for its hallucinogenic properties, the latter being more desirable with fewer side effects than those of A. muscaria. The use of P. semilanceata is however significantly hindered by its size, requiring larger quantities
8.
Plant pathology
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Plant pathology is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens and environmental conditions. Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like organisms, phytoplasmas, protozoa, nematodes, not included are ectoparasites like insects, mites, vertebrate, or other pests that affect plant health by consumption of plant tissues. Control of plant diseases is crucial to the production of food. Plants in both natural and cultivated populations carry inherent disease resistance, but there are examples of devastating plant disease impacts. However, disease control is reasonably successful for most crops, plant diseases cause major economic losses for farmers worldwide. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates indeed that pests and diseases are responsible for about 25% of crop loss, most phytopathogenic fungi belong to the Ascomycetes and the Basidiomycetes. The fungi reproduce sexually and asexually via the production of spores and other structures. Spores may be spread long distances by air or water, or they may be soilborne, Many soil inhabiting fungi are capable of living saprotrophically, carrying out the part of their life cycle in the soil. These are known as facultative saprotrophs, fungal diseases may be controlled through the use of fungicides and other agriculture practices. However, new races of fungi often evolve that are resistant to various fungicides, biotrophic fungal pathogens colonize living plant tissue and obtain nutrients from living host cells. Necrotrophic fungal pathogens infect and kill host tissue and extract nutrients from the dead host cells, see the powdery mildew and rice blast images, below. Significant fungal plant pathogens include, Fusarium spp, magnaporthe grisea Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Ustilago spp. The oomycetes are not true fungi but are fungus-like organisms and they include some of the most destructive plant pathogens including the genus Phytophthora, which includes the causal agents of potato late blight and sudden oak death. Particular species of oomycetes are responsible for root rot, despite not being closely related to the fungi, the oomycetes have developed very similar infection strategies. Oomycetes are capable of using effector proteins to turn off a plants defenses in its infection process, plant pathologists commonly group them with fungal pathogens. Significant oomycete plant pathogens Pythium spp and these are caused by species of Plasmodiophora and Spongospora, respectively. Most bacteria that are associated with plants are actually saprotrophic and do no harm to the plant itself, however, a small number, around 100 known species, are able to cause disease. Bacterial diseases are more prevalent in subtropical and tropical regions of the world
9.
Bioluminescence
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Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. It is a form of chemiluminescence, Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some bioluminescent bacteria and terrestrial invertebrates such as fireflies. In some animals, the light is produced by organisms such as Vibrio bacteria. The principal chemical reaction in bioluminescence involves the light-emitting pigment luciferin, the enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of luciferin. In some species, the type of luciferin requires cofactors such as calcium or magnesium ions, in evolution, luciferins vary little, one in particular, coelenterazine, is found in nine different animal, though in some of these, the animals obtain it through their diet. Conversely, luciferases vary widely in different species, Bioluminescence has arisen over forty times in evolutionary history. It was not until the nineteenth century that bioluminescence was properly investigated. The phenomenon is widely distributed among animal groups, especially in environments where dinoflagellates cause phosphorescence in the surface layers of water. On land it occurs in fungi, bacteria and some groups of invertebrates, in the laboratory, luciferase-based systems are used in genetic engineering and for biomedical research. Other researchers are investigating the possibility of using bioluminescent systems for street and decorative lighting, before the development of the safety lamp for use in coal mines, dried fish skins were used in Britain and Europe as a weak source of light. This experimental form of illumination avoided the necessity of using candles which risked sparking explosions of firedamp, another safe source of illumination in mines was bottles containing fireflies. In 1920, the American zoologist E. Newton Harvey published a monograph, The Nature of Animal Light, Harvey notes that Aristotle mentions light produced by dead fish and flesh, and that both Aristotle and Pliny the Elder mention light from damp wood. He also records that Robert Boyle experimented on these light sources, tuckey, in his posthumous 1818 Narrative of the Expedition to the Zaire, described catching the animals responsible for luminescence. He mentions pellucids, crustaceans, and cancers, under the microscope he described the luminous property to be in the brain, resembling a most brilliant amethyst about the size of a large pins head. Charles Darwin noticed bioluminescence in the sea, describing it in his Journal, While sailing in these latitudes on one very dark night, the sea presented a wonderful and most beautiful spectacle. There was a breeze, and every part of the surface. The vessel drove before her bows two billows of liquid phosphorus, and in her wake she was followed by a milky train. Darwin also observed a luminous jelly-fish of the genus Dianaea and noted that When the waves scintillate with bright green sparks, but there can be no doubt that very many other pelagic animals, when alive, are phosphorescent
10.
Mycelium
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Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus or fungus-like bacterial colony, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. The mass of hyphae is sometimes called shiro, especially within the fairy ring fungi, fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrates. A mycelium may be minute, forming a colony that is too small to see, or it may be extensive and this 2, 400-acre site in eastern Oregon had a contiguous growth of mycelium before logging roads cut through it. Mushroom-forming forest fungi are unique in that their mycelial mats can achieve such massive proportions, through the mycelium, a fungus absorbs nutrients from its environment. It does this in a two-stage process, first, the hyphae secrete enzymes onto or into the food source, which break down biological polymers into smaller units such as monomers. These monomers are then absorbed into the mycelium by facilitated diffusion, mycelium is vital in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems for their role in the decomposition of plant material. They contribute to the fraction of soil, and their growth releases carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. Mycelium is an important food source for many soil invertebrates, mycelium, like fungus, can be considered a mass noun, a word that can be either singular or plural. The term mycelia, though, like fungi, is used as the preferred plural form. Sclerotia are compact or hard masses of mycelium, one of the primary roles of fungi in an ecosystem is to decompose organic compounds. Petroleum products and some pesticides are organic molecules, and thereby present a potential source for fungi. Hence, fungi have the potential to eradicate such pollutants from their environment unless the chemicals prove toxic to the fungus and this biological degradation is a process known as bioremediation. Mycelial mats have been suggested as having potential as biological filters, removing chemicals and microorganisms from soil, the use of fungal mycelium to accomplish this has been termed mycofiltration. Knowledge of the relationship between fungi and plants suggests new ways to improve crop yields. When spread on logging roads, mycelium can act as a binder, holding new soil in place, since 2007, a company called Ecovative Design has been developing alternatives to polystyrene and plastic packaging by growing mycelium in agricultural waste. The two ingredients are mixed together and placed into a mold for 3–5 days to grow into a durable material, depending on the strain of mycelium used, they make many different varieties of the material including water absorbent, flame retardant, and dielectric. Fungi are essential for converting biomass into compost, as they decompose feedstock components such as lignin, turning a backyard compost pile will commonly expose visible networks of mycelia that have formed on the decaying organic material within. Compost is a soil amendment and fertilizer for organic farming and gardening
11.
William Withering
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William Withering FRS was an English botanist, geologist, chemist, physician and the discoverer of digitalis. Withering was born in Wellington, Shropshire, trained as a physician and he worked at Birmingham General Hospital from 1779. The active ingredient is now known as digitalis, after the scientific name. In 1785, Withering published An Account of the Foxglove and some of its Medical Uses, born in Wellington, Shropshire, England, he attended Edinburgh Medical School from 1762 to 1766. In 1767 he started as a consultant at Stafford Royal Infirmary and he married Helena Cookes in 1772, they had three children. On the way home from his trip there, the ship he was in was chased by pirates. In 1785 he was elected a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Society, the following year he leased Edgbaston Hall, in Birmingham, England. He was one of the members of the Lunar Society, during the Birmingham riots of 1791 he prepared to flee from Edgbaston Hall, but his staff kept the rioters at bay until the military arrived. After moving to The Larches on 28 September, he died on 6 October 1799, in 1776, he published The botanical arrangement of all the vegetables naturally growing in Great Britain, an early and influential British Flora. It was the first in English based on the then new Linnaean taxonomy — a classification of all living things — devised by the eminent Swedish botanist and physician Carl Linnaeus. However he found plenty of support for his position, and botany was considered a subject unsuitable for women during the next century. Withering wrote two editions of this work in 1787 and 1792, in collaboration with fellow Lunar Society member Jonathan Stokes. It continued being published under various authors until 1877, Withering senior also carried out pioneering work into the identification of fungi and invented a folding pocket microscope for use on botanical field trips. He also introduced to the audience the screw down plant press. In 1787 he was elected a Fellow of the Linnaean Society in recognition of his contribution to botany, subsequently the plant Witheringia solanacea was named in his honour, and he became known on the continent of Europe as The English Linnaeus. The William Withering Chair in Medicine at the University of Birmingham Medical School is named after him, at least one of these cases was a patient for whom Erasmus Darwin had asked Withering for his second opinion. A postscript at the end of the volume of transactions containing Darwins paper states that Whilst the last pages of this volume were in the press. Published a numerous collection of cases in which foxglove has been given and this is a very early example of medical academic plagiarism
12.
Worthington George Smith
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Worthington George Smith was an English cartoonist and illustrator, archaeologist, plant pathologist, and mycologist. Worthington G. Smith was born in Shoreditch, London, the son of a civil servant and he received an elementary education at a local school and was then apprenticed as an architect. He married Henrietta White in 1856 and the couple had seven children, Smith worked for the architect Sir Horace Jones, becoming an expert draughtsman and a member of the Architectural Association. In 1861, however, he left the profession and embarked on a career as a freelance illustrator. He put his experience to use by producing illustrations for The Builder. Smith had an interest in history and gardening, and gradually developed a reputation as a botanical illustrator. His work appeared in the Gardeners Chronicle and in 1869 he became its chief illustrator and he also contributed illustrations to the Journal of Horticulture and other periodicals. In 1880, he co-authored Illustrations of the British Flora with the botanical illustrator Walter Hood Fitch. Worthington G. Smiths particular expertise was in fungi, which he collected, studied and he published extensively, writing over 200 articles and papers, as well as several books. His first major work in 1867 was to produce coloured illustrations of poisonous and edible fungi, for this he was awarded the Royal Horticultural Societys Knightian gold medal. He restored Sowerbys clay models of fungal fruitbodies displayed at the Natural History Museum, in 1908, he also wrote a descriptive catalogue of the specimens and drawings of the British Basidiomycetes held at the museum. Worthington G. Smith was the first mycologist to lead a fungus foray, in 1868 he was invited by the Woolhope Naturalists Field Club to be the expert leader of a field meeting dubbed a foray among the funguses. This was so successful that the club held annual forays for the next 24 years, Smith helped publicize the club and its forays with a series of cartoons in various journals, some of them caricaturing the leading mycologists of the day. He also designed illustrated menus in similar style for the clubs annual fungus dinners at the Green Dragon in Hereford. Smith became a member of the club and in 1874. In 1896 Worthington G. Smith became a member of the British Mycological Society and was elected its President in 1904. He was also a Fellow of the Linnean Society, Smiths reputation as a mycologist and plant pathologist has been overshadowed by the more lasting achievements of his contemporaries. His book on plant diseases was said to have out of touch when published
