A Mycological Florilegium: A Selection of Articles Published in 2007 and 2008

McIlvainea 18 (1) 2009 2 MYCOLOGY IS is a booming and blooming fi eld of science, and mycologists are prolifi c writers. The result is that many fungal papers are published every year, and they range widely; recently there are biochemical studies of how a gene works in the development of a small dung denizen, inventories of the mycofl ora of a hemlock forest in Ontario, the description of new species and a comprehensive phylogenetic study of the entire kingdom Fungi. An eclectic and highly personal choice of topics is presented here to bring you some of the most recent and noteworthy literature about your favorite organisms. The selection covers all types of research, comes from all over the globe, and in several cases involves professional and amateur mycologists working together as a team. What stands out for me, after compiling this overview, is that with molecular data adding a whole new dimension to what we knew about mushroom morphology and classifi cation, the world of mushrooms has become more fascinating, more complex and more challenging than we could have dreamt. The number of questions to be answered just keeps growing. Also striking is how many of these studies rely on fi eld observations, and well-described collections, showing that fi eld mycology is still the basis for all other types of research. Amateur mycologists can really help. If this smorgasbord makes you hungry for more mycological information, but you do not live next door to a good mycological library, be aware that most journals post abstracts of their articles online— just use the name of the journal in a search engine to start exploring. Some journals now allow free online access to the whole article, either immediately or after a modest delay; this is indicated below when it applies to one of the articles on my list. Lots to Do about Fly Agarics