Ainsworth &Bisby's "Dictionary of the Fungi" by G. C.

Ainsworth
Taxon, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Feb., 1972), pp. 179-180
Published by: International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT)
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more
comprehensive,
Plant Variation and Evolution of
1969,
and
Solbrig's
Prin-
ciples
and methods
of plant biosystematics
of 1970
(the
two latter books
surpris-
ingly
not noted in the
bibliography).
The main title does full
justice, however,
to
the
emphasis given
to the nature and
origin
of variations in
plants
which is under-
standably
taken as the basic theme to elaborate the fundamental
principles
of mod-
ern
biosystematics and,
on this basis
again,
of
general systematics.
The
general
characters of variation are discussed in the first
part
of the
book,
their
origin
in
the
second;
the third
part
deals with
speciation,
taxonomic units and with the meth-
ods of
plant taxonomy.
The methods of classical
taxonomy
are dealt with in
two and a half
pages, biosystematic methodology
is dealt with in 10
pages,
of
which about half deal with numerical
taxonomy.
These
figures
show that the meat
of this book will not be found in the much too brief discussion of the
systematic
methodology
in
general,
but indeed in the
processes
of variation and
speciation
as
they
have become known in the course of the last
forty years. Cytological
and
ge-
netical data and theories are described in some detail in so far as
they
are of basic
importance
for modern
systematics.
The text is
mainly
directed towards students
but will be read with
advantage by
all those whose taxonomic
training
took
place
in an era in which
biosystematics played
a lesser role.
AINSWORTH AND BISBY'S DICTIONARY OF THE FUNGI
G. C.
AINSWORTH,
Ainsworth &
Bisby's Dictionary of
the
Fungi.
Sixth edition.
Including
the Lichens
by
P. W.
James
and D. L. Hawksworth. Commonwealth
Mycological Institute,
Kew, Surrey, 1971. 631 pp.,
16
plates,
121/2
x 181/2
cm, buckram, price
?
5.oo,
US
$
13.oo00.
The new Ainsworth and
Bisby
differs
considerably
from the
previous (fifth)
edi-
tion even at first
sight:
it is much more
bulky.
The total number of
pages (630)
constitutes an increase of some 200/0 over that of the 1961 edition. The most imme-
diately apparent
addition to the contents is the inclusion of the
lichens;
the most
striking change
in
general
is that in
price:
?
5.00 now
against
? 1.50
(30 s)
in 1961.
Before
any potential
user voices his
protest against
the increase in
price,
how-
ever,
he should read the
preface.
This
is, admittedly,
a curious advice:
prefaces
are
usually
read
only by reviewers,
but the interested user will now learn that the
price
reflects
truthfully
the
great changes
effected since the fifth edition. The first
edition of the
Dictionary
was
published
in 1943. For the four
subsequent
editions
standing type
was
used,
a
procedure limiting
the cost
noticeably,
but also
limiting
the authors with
respect
to revisions. After the fifth edition the
type
was dis-
persed,
and the
present
edition therefore differs from the earlier ones in
many
aspects.
The "taxonomic
framework" is now
basically
that of the
general purpose
classification
proposed by
Ainsworth in
1966,
the lichens are included
(a major
step forward), many
names of
fungal
metabolites are
included,
and
many
of the
major
entries have been rewritten
entirely.
The
present
reviewer can
hardly
be
called a
mycologist
but has even so made
extensive use of the
previous
editions. Dr. Ainsworth states in his
preface
that
Prof.
J.
Webster was
possibly
the
only person
who had read the whole text of the
fifth
edition,
in addition to the
printer
and the author. I can assure him that the
working group
on Index
nominum
genericorum
in
Washington
has come close to
doing likewise, although
this holds
admittedly mainly
for the names of taxa and
to a lesser extent for the
general
and
terminological
entries. Even
so,
the overall
impression
has been one of admiration for the amount of information
compressed
in the book and for the
high degree
of
reliability.
General
praise
for "Ainsworth
and
Bisby"
is
really superfluous:
the success of the
book,
the sixth edition reached
within
thirty years,
its
very general
distribution
throughout
the
world,
not
only
among professional biologists
but also outside those esoteric
circles,
are sufficient
evidence of the merits of the book. I shall therefore refrain from
describing
its
general contents,
well known after
all,
and leave the
specialized
criticism to
my my-
cological colleagues.
The
many non-mycological
users of the book will find it to
be not
simply
a technical
compendium
of
names,
taxonomic
assignments
and
terms,
FEBRUARY 1972 179
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
but -
especially through
its extensive
"general"
entries - an admirable intro-
duction to the
knowledge
of
fungi
and a reference book of inestimable value.
One or two remarks on some of the
general
entries. The
major entry
on
Fungi
now
discusses the recent
support
for the view that the
Fungi
constitute a
separate king-
dom,
and
accepts
in
general
the
five-kingdom system
of Whittaker. Ainsworth
adds as a consolation that "this should cause little inconvenience to traditionalists."
The
Dictionary
is faithful to the
circumscription
of the
Kingdom Fungi
in this mod-
ern sense
by excluding
the bacteria
(incl. actinomycetes)
and
by including
the
myxomycetes
and cellular slime moulds.
With
respect
to the taxonomic classification of the
fungi
here
adopted,
most
noticeable is the fact that the
Phycomycetes
are no
longer recognized.
The Divi-
sions
recognized
in the
Kingdom
are
Myxomycota
and
Eumycota,
the latter with
the subdivisions
Mastigomycotina, Zygomycotina, Ascomycotina, Basidiomycotina
and
Deuteromycotina (Fungi imperfecti).
The lichens are treated as a
separate
"series"
The
entry
on numbers of
fungi
now contains a detailed list of numbers of
genera
and
species;
the total number of
accepted genera
is
5.100,
4000 names are re-
garded
as
synonyms;
the number of described
species
is estimated to be 45.000. The
average
number of new
species
of
fungi
described
per year
now exceeds
1.000;
whether or not we shall ever know the total number of
existing fungi (100.000,
250.000
species)
becomes a moot
question: many
of them will be extinct
(destruc-
tion of
habitats)
before man can
recognize
them. The number of lichen
genera
stands at circa 500
(750 synonyms),
of
species
still at 18.000.
It would be
tempting,
if time and
space allowed,
to
quote
further from the
in.
formative
general
entries. These
examples, however, may
suffice to show that the
Dictionary of Fungi
is not a mere list of names but a storehouse of information.
THE GENUS FUSARIUM
C.
BOOTH,
The
genus
Fusarium. Commonwealth
Mycological Institute,
Kew
Surrey, Eng-
land
1971,
237
pp., 5o
figures, 20 plates,
15
x
241/2
cm, buckram, price
?
3.00,
US
$
7.80.
Fusarium
species
are
widely
known as
plant pathogens,
as
spoilage organisms
in stored
products,
and in other
economically negative aspects.
A
profound
know,
ledge
of the
group
can be obtained
only through time-consuming
cultivation.
My-
cologists
as well as a wide
group
of
applied biologists
will be
grateful
for the
ap-
pearance
of this book. The number of
species
names
published
for the
genus
num-
bers around 1000. The
study by Booth,
based on an
exceptionally
wide
range
of
cultivated
specimens
obtained over
many years
from all
parts
of the world shows
that the
synonym
to correct name ratio is
extremely high
in this case. In The
genus
Fusarium
the author
recognises approximately fifty species
and
varieties, admitting
that there are
undoubtedly
others which he has not
seen,
but
expressing
as his firm
conviction that this number will be nowhere near the number of
published
names.
A better
knowledge
of the life
cycles
of the various
species
has shown that various
stages (micro-
and macroconidial
forms)
were often described as different
species;
often the taxonomic
synonymy
is caused
by
the
description
of
putative
new
species
by
authors not
fully
aware of what had
already
been done in the
field,
but
most
common is the fact that a new
species
was described
simply
because the
fungus
was
found on a new host.
After a brief historical introduction the author
provides chapters
on methods of
isolation,
culture and stimulation of
sporulation,
on
preservation,
and on Fusarium
nomenclature.
As far as his nomenclature is concerned the author admits that in a
genus
like
Fusarium,
with
scanty
or no
type
material at all it is in
many
cases almost im-
possible
to follow the rules of nomenclature in all details. Too
many
of the old
names cannot be identified with
certainty,
and even
if,
with modern
methods,
such
identification is now
necessary
it results almost
invariably
in
confusing
name
changes.
One can therefore
sympathize
with his decision to follow what has become
180 TAXON VOLUME 21
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