Basidiomycete Research Group

We are a group of mycologists working on fungal systematics (taxonomy) and evolution of the Basidiomycota, and on their ecology and role in forest environment. The Basidiomycete Research Group is among the few in the world that personally do the whole study process of basidiomycete taxonomy: from field collecting – to identification and documentation – to DNA and microscopy analysis – to taxonomic conclusions and describing new taxa. Our pursuit is to make DNA analyses from our own collected materials, so that the results can be traced back to properly preserved specimens, whose fresh characteristics and ecology are known. Good knowledge of species is one of our strengths.

Within agarics we are working in particular on the genus Cortinarius; among aphyllophoroid fungi we study at present the ramarioid genera, polypores, corticioids, hydnaceous and tremelloid genera. Our work deals mostly with taxa of the Northern Boreal coniferous zone, but also with tropical Southeast Asia and Africa. Evolutionary studies cannot be geographically delimited and in our work we utilise species worldwide. Most of us are working in the University of Helsinki, and partly in the Finnish Environment Institute and other laboratories. Our work is closely linked to conservation issues and to the protection of old-growth forests.

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