MycoKey 4.1

MycoKey is now upgraded to version 4.1, running under Windows 8 (and seemingly also Windows 10).

If you have already bought version 4, just download the new version from the MycoKey website. If you don't yet own MycoKey or if you have a earlier version, download the 14 days trial and check if everything is working. Remember to try to open the free Amanita species key, to check if the pdf-files opens as expected on your system. If satisfied, you may then pay the license and get access to everything.

MycoKey 4.1 is mainly a stability and compatibility upgrade. There are, however, some enhancements to the character coding and also a few new pictures, e.g. of Hirticlavula, Cephaloscypha, Pseudolasiobolus and Torrubiella.

Pseudolasiobolus minutissimus

Torrubiella albolanata

“Nisseskæg” (Goblins beard) finally revealed

“Nisseskæg” (Goblins beard) finally revealed and its a fungus: Exidiopsis effusa:
http://www.cnet.com/news/candy-floss-ice-spun-by-fungus/

Commersial Ustilago maydis in Canada – why not in Europe too?

Check this story in Science Friday.

Hirticlavula elegans – new to science

Thomas Læssøe, Marie Davey and I just described a new genus and species Hirticlavula elegans found in Denmark and Norway. We are proud that this tiny fungus (1200 x 80 µm!) made it to the BBC News from Elsewhere and further on.

The publicity started with the Danish website videnskab.dk. It was then picked by the BBC and then continued its travel around the world: Science Nordic, Poland, Romania, Romania, Portugal, India, Mexico, Mexico, Mexico, Mexico (Chihuahua) and Japan. And at the same time it was also included in wikipedia and spotlighted in Before it's too late. I think this shows the power of illustrations :-)

You can download the article here: Karstenia 54: 1-8

A deadly Russula

Since the MycoKey Mycelium blog is dormant at the moment, we may just as well relay you on to this very interesting post on Kathie Hodges Cornell Mushroom Blog written by her student Ben Hoffman: A deadly Russula. Worrying stuff . . .

Favolaschia – a new bioluminescent genus?

Mushroom photographer Taylor Lockwood reports that decaying specimen of a bamboo-inhabiting Favolaschia glows in the dark: read here

New book: The Kingdom of Fungi

This spring my new book “the Kingdom of Fungi” was published by Princeton University Press.

The 265 pages book is sort of an illustrated textbook – with many illustrations and not so much text :-)

Table of contents:

Preface 

Introducing fungal life 

Fungal spores 

Hyphae 

Kinship

The perfect imperfects 

Fruiting bodies 

The Ascomycota 

The Basidiomycota

The Zygomycota and other groups 

Fungal ecology 

Fungi in the world 

Fungal future 

Postscript 

Index 

It has been well received, and I cite from the Princeton website:
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Review:

"An instant classic. . . . The book's 800+ photographs accomplish a singular feat: they display the diagnostic features of a particular species--gill attachment or lack thereof, apothecial hairs, etc.--without sacrificing esthetics. . . . The text is remarkable, too. It describes the ecology and biology of fungi, where fungi grow, and human interactions with fungi."--Lawrence Millman, Boston Mycological Club Bulletin

"A lavish work. . . . [A] book with a message about both the beauty and importance of fungi that should be widely available in bookshops worldwide and so help raise the global awareness of kingdom Fungi. I cannot commend it too strongly, and if you have not yet seen it you are in for a real treat--perhaps a mycologist's equivalent of being a kid in a candy store."--IMA Fungus

"The Kingdom of Fungi is a feast for the senses, and the ideal reference for naturalists, researchers, and anyone interested in fungi."--Northeastern Naturalist

Endorsement:

"The Kingdom of Fungi melds the traditional classification still found in most field guides with the findings from recent phylogenetic studies. The photographs are absolutely stunning and will be the talk of the town."--Donald H. Pfister, Harvard University

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Here are some spreads from the book:

You can read a full review of the book here (scroll down to page 26) and an interview with the author here.

The book is by now out in English (The Kingdom of Fungi), Danish (I svampenes rige), Dutch (Het Leven van Paddenstoelen en Schimmels) and Estonian (Seeneriigi illustreeritud entsüklopeedia), see my photographic website for further updates.



Update:
Some further reviews of the US edition:
The Cornell Mushroom Blog
The flying mullet
Omphalina (down to page 10)