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8/11/2019 Taxon Volume 21 Issue 1 1972 [Doi 10.2307%2F1219250] -- Ainsworth & Bisby's Dictionary of the Fungiby G. C. A
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Ainsworth &Bisby's "Dictionary of the Fungi" by G. C. AinsworthTaxon, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Feb., 1972), pp. 179-180Published by: International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1219250.
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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,
insworth
&
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
m, 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
972
179
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3/3
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,
he
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 OLUME1
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