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Mycology

Our target of research is the global diversity of fungi. Some estimates of the number of all species of fungi is about 1.5 million. Of these, only ca. 70 000 species are currently known to science. The amount of species is enormous and the impact of these species to nature, its ecosystems and all life is crucial. Our research teams work on both Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes. The former ones are often microscopic saprophytes but also include most of the lichen-forming species. The latter ones are important components of the forest ecosystems and also include most of the edible fungi. Our researchers utilize the methods of classical taxomony, ecology and the modern approaches of molecular phylogenetics. In addition to permanent herbarium staff a large number of postdoc and graduate students as well as visiting scientists, retirees and active amateurs work in the team. The three major research groups are as follows:

The fungal collections at the Botanic Garden and Herbarium (H) are invaluable. They house altogether 400 000 species of lichen-forming fungi and 390 000 other fungi. These numbers include the separate lichen collections of E. Acharius (H-ACH; 5500 specimens) and W. Nylander (H-NYL; 52 000 specimens) as well as the collections of P.A. Karsten. A recent addition of Herb. A. Henssen will increase the number of lichens by ca. 40 000 specimens, and the estimate of backlog collections is currently ca. 60 000 specimens. Collections worth mentioning are also, for instance, slime molds, rust fungi, smut fungi, powdery mildews and downy mildews; these include numerous type specimens. Altogether, our fungal collections are estimated to include ca. 20 000 type specimens. We also have ca. 260 series of exsiccatae, of which 160 are lichens and 100 other fungi. These are separately kept in part but mostly incorporated in the collections.

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