I worked as Senior Curator of mycology in the Botanical Museum of the Finnish Museum of Natural History (Museoinfo). I retired on March 1, 2012. The museum belongs to the University of Helsinki, being situated in Helsinki, Finland (Europe). When the Museum of Natural History was established my duty was to serve as the Head Curator of the division for the first seven years, and as the member of the directory board of the Museum of Natural History at the same time. ― Some of CV.

BIODIVERSITY is the key word characterizing the object of my research work. My Ph.D. thesis comprised a taxonomic monograph on the genus Clitocybe (Basidiomycetes: Agaricales) in Finland and neighbouring countries. Besides Clitocybe s. lato (incl. Lepista) many other agaric genera, such as Cystoderma, Hygrophorus and Lactarius have been paid a special attention to. Another field of active study has been the cup-fungi of the order Pezizales (Ascomycetes), especially genera with larger fruit bodies (Gyromitra s. lato, Helvella, Otidea, Peziza, Pseudombrophila). The lichens, too, have shared my interest.

Vascular plant floristics is my favourite since the school-boy years. From the 1980’s I have also made taxonomic research on plants. My interest attaches particularly to the genera Calamagrostis, Carex, Dryopteris, Epilobium, Festuca, Galium, Huperzia, Luzula, Poa, Polypodium, Pteridium, Pulmonaria, Rhododendron (Ledum), Salix, Stellaria, Veronica and Viola. It appears to me that these genera, in particular, contain unrecognized taxa in Finland, perhaps even undescribed species.

At an early stage I found certain – partly neglected – chemical reagents and dyes most useful in the taxonomy of fungi: acetocarmine, cotton (methyl) blue, and Melzer's reagent. The use of the two first-named resulted to the detection of an agaric species group which others later judged to be worth of a separate genus, Gerhardtia. Likewise, these reagents were helpful in detecting already in 1974 the deviating cyanophilic and dextrinoid basidia and spores which are present in some proportion in Tricholoma and Collybia (publication # 17; in the latter genus these structures were only observed in the Rhodocollybia group which was later assigned the generic rank!). Besides its usual routine in spore studies, Melzer's reagent provokes interesting responses in the flesh of certain bolets and cup-fungi. The responses of dried fruit bodies of agarics and cup-fungi to ultraviolet light have given beautiful results in preliminary tests; this method is so far almost unknown to mycologists proper while it is everyday routine in lichenology. No doubt, UV should be tried in vascular plant taxonomy as well. I am also interested in cytotaxonomy and chemotaxonomy of fungi and plants, and have pursued some research myself.

 I have tried to advance nature protection, and my duties have included monitoring of endangered species of fungi, lichens (such as Vulpicida juniperina) and vascular plants (such as Cephalanthera rubra). In the years 1974-1990 I had every season a field course for students on knowing macrofungi, at the Lammi Biological Station. These courses turned out to be most fruitful for the research of the taxonomy and distribution of our larger fungi: a dozen or two of pairs of eyes is a very effective means to detect fruit bodies in the forest! Mycology has been popularized by me through different media, by arranging mushroom exhibitions for the public, and by publishing a guide on edible mushrooms and another one specialized on poisonous ones and poisonings.

Field trips, wandering in the nature, is to me the primary means to get acquainted with plants and fungi and their variation, as well as a must for the welfare of the soul. The molecular approach to taxonomy is a very fascinating and necessary supplementary tool.

Clitocybe gibba	Gyromitra esculenta	Cystoderma lilacipes	Carex pallens (Lammi, Finland)	Viola riviniana v. (Lohja, Finland)

The photographs of fungi and Viola were taken by Mauri Korhonen and that of Carex by Raimo Heikkilä.
Ulla Nummela-Salo assisted in creating the first version of this home page, published on May 12, 2000.