HISTORY OF MYCOLOGY 13 



the mention of their names, except Carlos Spegazzini (1858-1926), of 

 Argentina, who explored the mycologically almost unknown territory of 

 southern South America and gave the first descriptions of several thousand 

 species. 



As new species of fungi were recognized in all parts of the world their 

 descriptions appeared in all sorts of scientific journals, reports of learned 

 societies, and even in textbooks, so that it became increasingly difficult 

 for a student of fungi to know whether a fungus under study by him 

 was new to science or already described. Many fungi were unavoidably 

 named several times by different investigators. In Germany and other 

 European countries floras were published in which were described all 

 species of fungi known to occur in those regions, such, for example, as 

 Rabenhorst's "Kryptogamen-Flora" (1844, 1845). Valuable as were such 

 works, they did not include fungi from other regions, and since fungi are 

 much more cosmopolitan in their distribution than higher plants the 

 probability always existed that many fungi described from elsewhere 

 would be found to occur within the area covered by the work. This un- 

 certainty deterred many mycologists from describing supposedly new 

 species for fear of duplication. This was especially true of students of 

 fungi who lived away from the great European centers of mycological 

 activity. This condition became so bad that the great Italian mycologist 

 Pier' Andrea Saccardo (1845-1920) decided, before 1880, to bring to- 

 gether in one work the descriptions of all fungi hitherto recognized. Thus 

 began the monumental "Sylloge Fungorum," the first volume of which 

 appeared in 1882 and the twenty-fifth in 1931. With the appearance of 

 the first volume of this work systematic mycology again took a great 

 leap forward. In the meantime various periodicals were established which 

 were devoted partly or entirely to fungi. These are found in many 

 countries and in many languages, for the science of mycology is bounded 

 by no political or linguistic boundaries. 



With the greatly increased knowledge of the structures of fungi, for 

 which the Tulasne brothers were in great degree responsible, there began 

 a new phase of mycological work about the middle of the nineteenth 

 century. This was the study of the life histories of fungi. The earlier 

 mycologists had been, in the main, satisfied to describe the different forms 

 as they found them, often not dreaming that in many cases they were 

 treating of different stages of the same organism. To be sure some of the 

 earlier describers of fungi suggested that different forms found in close 

 association might be different stages of the same fungus, suggestions 

 which in many cases were found by later investigators to be correct. The 

 work of Anton de Bary began at about this period and was carried on 

 with such enthusiasm and skill that a great series of life history investi- 

 gations followed. His first outstanding work was his investigation of the 



