Book Review
Fungi non Delineati
Raro vel Haud Perspecte et Explorate Descripti aut Definite Picti
In the last Mycophile, Darvin DeShazer reviewed Xerocomus, the most recent addition to the excellent series of monographs Fungi Europaei, published by Edizioni Candusso. Candusso also publishes another series, Fungi non Delineati, consisting of short, reasonably priced, monograph-style treatments of fungi not covered by the popular field guides nor, sometimes, even the readily available technical literature. This concept is similar to that of the Bessettes' and Millers' Mushrooms of North America in Color: A Field Guide Companion to Seldom-Illustrated Fungi.
The three most recent additions-Parts 24, 25, and 26-are Contributions to the Knowledge of Genus Agaricus, Osservazioni sul Genere Melanoleuca, and Rare and Interesting Species of Psathyrella, respectively. As you might guess from these titles, different parts are written in different languages - English, Italian, French, or Spanish - and some are in both a European language and English. However, because many of the technical terms are nearly identical from language to language, non-English volumes can be used relatively easily by English-only types like myself. Authors include professional mycologists such as Marcel Bon, Eef Arnolds, and Meinhard Moser, as well as many highly regarded European amateurs such as Jan Vesterholt and Mauro Sarnari.
The usual format consists of a brief summary, followed by an introduction, the species descriptions and illustrations, list of references, and index of species covered. The species descriptions contain a brief list of synonyms, sometimes the original Latin diagnosis, macroscopic and microscopic characteristics, and observations or comments. The format and exact content vary from part to part. Most include drawings of microscopic features such as spores and cystidia, and all (at least all those I've seen) feature good to excellent color illustrations-either photographs or paintings.
As mentioned above, Fungi non Delineati focuses on fungi that aren't well known, so in some cases the parts deal with somewhat difficult groups (e.g., Gymnopilus and Leptonia), unusual habitats (e.g., snow-dwelling myxomycetes), or geographic areas that have received relatively little attention from mycologists (e.g., northern Spain). All in all, this is a nice series, and within it there's probably something for just about everyone. At last check, prices varied from €6.71 to €14.46. Because of our weak dollar, these are less of a bargain now than they were a few years ago-but still good buys. Of course, buying from European booksellers has become increasingly difficult and expensive (see the brief note following the reviews).
Currently, the volumes include (Part 1) Russule Rare o Interessanti; (2) Rare Agaricales with Darker Spores; (3) Boletus e Inocybe; (4) Pholiota, Psilocybe, and Panaeolus; (5) Tricholoma (Fr.) Staude; (6) Qualche Specie Rara o Poco Conosciuta della Famiglia Boletaceae; (7) Specie Interessanti dell'Erbario Lanzoni; (8) Russules Rares ou Meconnues; (9) Funghi Rari della Zona Mediterranea Italiana; (10) Indice 1-9; (11) Interesting Fungi in the Czech and Slovak Republics; (12) Ascomiceti del Nord Italia; (13) El Genero Leccinum S.F. Gray en el Norte de Espana; (14) Reperti Rari e Nuovi della Zona Alpina e Subalpina della Valsesia; (15) Rare, Debated, and New Taxa of the Genus Cortinarius (Agaricales); (16) Introduzione al Genere Ramaria in Europa; (17) Le Genre Gymnopilus P. Karst. en Europe; (18) Contribution a la Connaissance de Discomycetes Opercules Rares; (19) A Study on Nivicolous Myxomycetes. The Genus Lamproderma I; (20) Indice 11-19; (21) Contribution to the Knowledge of Species of Entoloma Subgenus Leptonia; (22) Macromiceti Nuovi, Rari, o Specifici delta Regione Mediterranea; (23) Studies in Galerina-Galerinae Flandriae (1); (24) Contribution to the Knowledge of Genus Agaricus; (25) Osservazioni sul Genere Melanoleuca; (26) Rare and Interesting Species of Psathyrella.
Parts 10 and 20 consist of indices to the preceding nine parts (volumes I and II, respectively). The full volumes, including index, often are available at a savings over the single-part prices. Check the Edizioni Candusso Web site for current prices.
— Review by Steve Trudell, Seattle, WA
— Originally published in The Mycophile 45:5, 2004