Taxonomic mycology in Belarus

HISTORY OF TAXONOMIC MYCOLOGY IN BELARUS:
A BIBLIOGRAPHIC SURVEY

Agaricoid (lamellate) and boletoid fungi

Edible agaricoid fungi are traditionally utilized by Belarusians. The paper by Meier (1786, publ. 1901) includes 19 species entries for mostly edible agaricoid and boletoid fungi.

Sixty-two species entries for boletoid and lamellate fungi were included in Jundziłł's book (1830). Rather rich data on agarics collected or observed in Belavezhskaya Pushcha forests were published in the papers by Błoński. In the work issued in 1888 he listed 42 species from Belarus area; additionally 4 species had unclear data on localities. In the paper of 1889 he reported 77 agarics plus 11 species with unclear data on their distribution.

Schembel (1913) reported 5 boletoid and 9 lamellate species collected in Minsk province. Single Panus species was included in the list by Lebedeva (1925, Erstes...). Thirty-eight agaricoid species s. l., including 7 boletoid ones, were reported in the second annotated list by Lebedeva (1925, Zweites...); several species were accompanied by notations on morphology. Kuprevich (1931, Fungi…) published an annotated list of 134 species collected and observed in 1930 in Smalyavichy vicinity, Minsk region. Thirty species were reported by Tumiłowiczówna (1935) for Valkavysk vicinity.

From 1950s till 1980s agaricoid basidiomycetes were being studied mostly by Galina Serzhanina. In 1959 Serzhanina published a list of 113 species registered in Byarezinski Reserve. In the Candidate thesis abstract (1962) Serzhanina listed 189 species recorded for the first time for Belarus, 9 of which of vague taxonomic position, with question marks before the species name. Later Serzhanina (1968, Agaricoid…) published a list of 165
species found in Belavezhskaya Pushcha. In the same time she published a list of 44 species identified for the first time for Belarus (Serzhanina, 1968, New…). Later in a paper on agaricoid fungi of Byarezinski Reserve she mentioned 59 species (Serzhanina, 1972). Serzhanina and Zakharava (1974) published an annotated list of 45 Russula species and 39 Lactarius species recorded in Belarus. In 1987 Serzhanina and Astapenko reported 58 species of lamellate fungi identified for the first time for the republic. The taxonomic data on the all agaricoid fungi in Belarus were generalized in two main handbooks (Serzhanina, 1984, 1994). The first one (1984) contains two main parts: keys to 632 species within families – with morphological data except of basidia characterization, and annotated checklist; 294 species were illustrated by simple line drawings of basidiomata, spores, and sometimes cystidia. There are 700 entries in the annotated species checklist, but factually the number of species is 682, because of 18 varieties and forms were numbered independently. The second one (Serzhanina, 1994), is the most fundamental Belarusian book on agaricoid mushrooms. Written in Belarusian, it includes key to the families and genera, morphological descriptions for 971 species, and line drawings for 215 species. Morphological diagnoses are simplified, include macromorphology and spores morphology, but without description of hyphae, cystidia, and basidia. Species within genera were grouped in unnamed sections, numbered by Arabic numerals. Illustrations are mostly the same as in Serzhanina (1984). In 1995 Serzhanina published a brochure devoted to Belarusian science nomenclature of agaricoid fungi.


Cover and title page of the book by Serzhanina (1984)	Illustrations of Crinipellis stipitarius, Mycena abramsii, and Mycena aetites from the book by Serzhanina (1984)

Cover and title page of the book by Serzhanina (1994)	Illustrations of Mycena rorida, M. crocata, and M. clavularis from the book by Serzhanina (1994)


Cover of a terminological brochure by Serzhanina (1991)	Cover and title page of a terminological brochure by Serzhanina (1995)

Morphological description for Paxillus panuoides as house fungus was published by Golovko (1966, Some data…). Later she published descriptions of P. panuoides and Lentinus lepideus (Golovko, 1981).

Some cultural characters of taxonomic importance for 5 species of common agarics from the genera Clitocybe, Collybia, Oudemansiella, and Pleurotus were discussed by Gapienko (1981). Thirty species recorded near Zhornauka (central Belarus) were reported in a paper by Gapienko (1984). Fourty-two agaricoid species were mentioned by Gapienko in her Candidate thesis abstract (1985). Twenty species found in Minsk district were listed by Kapich and Golovko (1992). Three species were briefly described, illustrated, and mapped in the second edition of the Red Data Book of Belarus (Golovko & Serzhanina, 1993). Two new Hygrophorus and 1 Armillaria were reported for the first time for Belarus by Gapienko (1996). Two rare species, with brief morphological descriptions, were reported by Mikhalevich (1997). Khantsevich (2001) listed 9 species of the Hygrophorales found in Brest oblast, one of which was new for Belarus. Four species belonged to Armillaria mellea complex recorded in Belarus are discussed in the Candidate thesis by V. Zvjagintsev (2003). A key to them was included in the thesis abstract (Zvjagintsev, 2003: 9–10).

Since 1996 taxonomy of the Russulaceae were studied by Yadviha Shaparava. In the paper of 1999 she discussed the morphological features of the genera Lactarius and Russula. Later (2002) she reported 15 Lactarius and 25 Russula species collected in Narach Lake vicinity. In a subsequent paper (Shaparava, 2003, Systematic…) she proposed a hierarchy of taxonomically valuable morphological features. To 2003 she registered 78 species of Russula and 47 species of Lactarius in Belarus (Shaparava, 2003, Taxonomy…). Infrageneric system for Russula was considered in several papers (Shaparava, 2003, Systematic…; Shaparava, 2003, Taxonomy…; 2004). She also published a key to sections in the genus Russula (Shaparava, 2004). A monograph devoted to taxonomy of Lactarius and Russula in Belarus was issued in 2007 (Shaparava, 2007). It includes a key to 53 Lactarius and 89 Russula species, their morphological diagoses, color illustrations of 48 Lactarius and 64 Russula species, and special chapter devoted to infrageneric system in the genus Russula and Lactarius.

Cover of the book by Shaparava (2007) on the Russulaceae

Six species were described and mapped in the Red Data Book of Belarus issued in 2005 (Gapienko, 2005).

Gapienko and Shaparava (2006) published a list of 911 agaricoid and boletoid species, collected in Belarus and stored in V.F. Kuprevich Institute of Experimental Botany Herbarium.

The keys and species descriptions of agaricoid fungi together with other fungi with macroscopic fruitbodies (‘mushrooms') were published in a series of scientific popular books also. The first one was a key-book for amateurs and biologists (Serzhanina, 1967), including descriptions of species macromorphology and spores morphology. A pocket size book with descriptions of main edible and poisonous species was issued in 1970 (Serzhanina et al., 1970). A color photoalbum of pocket size ‘Macromycetes' for biologists and mushroomers was issued in two editions (Serzhanina & Zmitrovich, 1978, 1986). The first edition included 141 species entries. The second edition contained color photos and descriptions of 157 agaricoid and boletoid species. A book by Serzhanina and Yashkin (1986), a guide to macromycetes for amateurs and biologists, included key to 270 species and 270 color illustrations on 48 plates. Besides, this book contains comprehensive data on Belarusian folk names of mushrooms, totally about 1500 names occuring in different dialect regions of the country. In 1990 a popular color-illustrated book devoted to various macrofungi was published by Serzhanina. Two handbooks with descriptions and color illustrations of mostly agaricoid macrofungi were published by Serzhanina (2002), Serzhanina and Yashkin (2005). Selected poisonous agaricoid fungi were described and illustrated in the book by Laman and Shaparava (2006).


Cover and title page of the book by Serzhanina (1967)	Cover and title page of the book by Serzhanina and Zmitrovich (1978)


Cover and title page of the book by Serzhanina and Zmitrovich (1986)	Illustrations of Mycena polygramma, M. pura, and M. vitilis from the book by Serzhanina and Zmitrovich (1986)


Cover and title page of the book by Serzhanina and Yashkin (1986)	Cover of the book by Serzhanina (1990)	Illustrations of Mycena rosella, M. pura, and M. pelianthina from the book by Serzhanina (1990)	Cover and title page of the book by Serzhanina (2002)

Taxonomic novelties. Two new agaricoid species were published by Błoński (1889) with Latin diagnoses and illustrations: Agaricus gregarius (p. 84–86, sub nom. ‘Agaricus (Collybia) gregarius') and Agaricus eismondii (p. 86, fig. on p. 85 and 87, sub nom. ‘Agaricus (Clitocybe) Eismondii'). Both names has the reference to Hedwigia 4, 1889, where they were evidently preliminary published. Both species were collected in Svislachskaya Pushcha (‘w puszczy Świsłockiéj, o kilka wiorst od/wpobliżu uroczyska Oszczep'), which is a part of Belavezhskaya Pushcha, today western Belarus close to Poland boundary.