CHAPTER XXXVII 



FUNGACE^-PHYCOMYCETES 



Preliminary — 'Fungaceae — Phycomycetes — Zygomycetes — Mucorales — 



References. 



PRELIMINARY. 



The study of fungi, or mycology, as it is often called, includes 

 macroscopic and microscopic forms. The microfungi are those 

 which principally cause disease, which, for this reason, is termed 

 a mycosis. Thus ' otomycosis ' means a mycosis of the ear, and 

 ' mucormycosis ' a disease caused by a mucor, which is a fungus 

 known to Malpighi in 1686. 



The study of the microfungi began in the days of Charles II., when Hooke 

 in 1677, made a lens with which he examined the blighted or yellow specks on 

 the leaves of the damask rose, and made excellent drawings of the micro- 

 fungi which he saw. His book contains a chapter devoted to the ' Blue 

 Mold and the First Principles of Vegetation arising from Putrefaction.' 



Malpighi, in 1686, has a chapter devoted to ' Plantis quae in alliis vegetant,* 

 in which he refers to mucedo. 



Ray, in 1706, in his ' Historia Plantarum,' describes Pilobolus cvystallinus, 

 one of the Mucoraceae, which has beautiful crystalline sporangia on yellowish 

 sporangiophores, and of which Plukenet in 1720 gave the first illustration. 



Micheli, in 1729, named and gave a scientific account of the genus Mucor, 

 as well as of Aspergillus and many other fungi. 



Linnaeus, in 1753, in his * Species Plantarum,' made a resume of knowledge 

 up to that date; and Hudson, in 1762, described mucors in his ' Flora Anglica ' ; 

 while Lightfoot in his ' Scottish Flora,' published in 1777, mentioned the 

 ascomycete-sphaeria. Pelham (1785), Withering (1795), Dickson (1785-1801), 

 and Hill (1796), all contributed to the knowledge of microfungi, which was 

 slowly growing, as did Batsch, in 1783, in Germany, and Bulliard, in 1791, 

 in France. 



This slow but sure progress now became very rapid, and the only way in 

 which we can trace its evolution is by mentioning the great systematic works 

 which are of use for reference. 



They are Persoon (1801), ' Synopsis Methodica Fungorum'; Link (1824), 

 ' Caroli Linne Species Plantarum,' Editio Quarto, tomus vi., p. i ; Fries (1821- 

 1829), ' Systema Mycologicum '; Nees von Esenbeck and Henry (1837), * Das 

 System der Pilze; Kiitzing (1849), ' Species Algarum '; Charles Robin (1853), 

 ' Vegetaux Parasites '; Kiichenmeister (1857), ' Animal and Vegetal Para?ites 

 of Man '; Fuckel (i 869-1 870), ' Symbolae Mycologiae '; Eidam (1872), ' Myco- 

 logie '; NaegeU {1877), ' Die Niederen Pilze.' 



In 1 88 1 Winter, Rehm, Fischer, and Lindau's ' Die Pilze Deutschlands,' 

 etc., began to appear, and in 1886 Saccardo's great work of reference, the 

 ' Sylloge Fungorum,' began. Both have continued down to the present 

 period. In 1890 Zopf's oft-quoted work, ' Die Pilze,' was pubUshed, and in 

 1900 Engler and Prantl's ' Pflanzenfamihen.' In 1907 Vuillemin started his 



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