HISTORY OF TAXONOMIC MYCOLOGY IN BELARUS:
A BIBLIOGRAPHIC SURVEY
Lichens
Lichenized fungi is the group on which the biggest number of handbooks was published in Belarus (Tomin, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1956; Gorbach, 1965, Identification…; Gorbach, 1973).
The earliest records of lichens known for us occur in a book by Gilibert (1781) and in a paper by Meier (1786, publ. 1901). Gilibert's work ‘Flora Litvanica inchoata…' has a chapter listing plants and plant-like organisms ‘Chloris Grodnensis seu conspectus plantarum agri Grodnensis ordine Linneano', including 37 lichens, but without locality data. The belonging of Gilibert's species to the today Belarus area is an open question. Two lichen names, Lichen pulmonarius L. and Lichen fragilis L. were mentioned in the paper by Meier.
Eighty-eight lichen species entries were included in the book by Jundziłł (1830), without data on localities. Eleven lichen species were listed by Downar (1861) for Mahilyou vicinity. One year later he published an additional species, Baeomyces roseus (Downar, 1862). Filipowicz (1881) published a list of lichens, including 4 species collected near Brest (‘Brześć Litewski'). In the paper issued in 1888 Błoński published 37 species found in Belarus part of Belavezhskaya Pushcha, plus 6 species having unclear data on distribution. In the paper published in 1889 he listed 12 species with unclear geography, possibly found in Belarus.
In 1908–1910 Georgij Kreyer collected lichens in Mogilev province, between Orsha and Senno (Syanno), in vicinity of the villages Smol'yany*, Bobromynichi, and Selets. Based on these materials he published 180-pp. taxonomic work or small lichen ‘mycota' (Kreyer, 1913, reprinted 1915). It includes morphological descriptions of 190 species. Most species are accompanied by detailed entries, describing intraspecific variability and discussing differences between morphologically close taxa.
In 1914 Ljubitzkaja published 15 lichen species collected in 1912–1913 near towns Mazyr and Rechytsa in southeast Belarus. A paper published by E. Bachmann and F. Bachmann in two part (1919, 1920) includes taxonomic list of lichens collected in 1916–1917 in the region of Svir Lake (‘Swir-See') and Vishneuskae Lake, on the right bank of the Viliya river, and west of Pastavy (‘Postawy'); all collection sites were near the eastern German front during the 1st World War. There were 57 species mentioned in the first part (1919) and 183 species in the second (1920). Fourteen species from Vyhanauskae Lake region were mentioned in geobotanical work by Tessendorf (1922). Ukrainian lichenologist Alfred Oksner, collaborator of Kiev Botanical Garden Laboratory, after the observations in Minsk and Mar'ina Horka vicinities in 1923 published 13 species, 14 forms and 6 varieties of lichens for the first time for Belarus, with notations on their morphology (Oksner, 1924). In 1925 he published a paper where discussed 8 species collected in the same regions, with some notations on their morphology. Wyssotzky and co-authors (1925), in a published journal of their botanical expedition over southeast and southern Belarus, reported 86 lichen species. Well-known Soviet cryptogamist Vsevolod Savicz, a collaborator of the Main Botanical Garden in Leningrad, published an annotated list of 119 species collected in 1923 in Minsk vicinity and near Asipovichy, in Zhornauka Forest Dacha (Savicz, 1925); several species were accompanied by brief notations on their morphology.
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Title of the paper by Tsetterman (1948) |
The most known Belarusian lichenologist, Professor Mikhail Tomin, concentrated his work on composing identification keys and species diagnoses. His first key, to leprose and crustose lichens of Middle European Russia, was published in four parts (Tomin, 1927, I; 1927, II; 1927, III; 1928) and bind together in a common cover when reprinted. The 4th part included a list of pyrenolichens, 9 species of which were referred to Belarus area (Tomin, 1928: 107-116). An identification book to foliose and fruticose lichens of Belarus (Tomin, 1936) includes a key and a checklist of 214 species. A handbook on foliose and fruticose species of the USSR (Tomin, 1937) included 477 species diagnoses; 121 species were reported from Belarus. An identification book to leprose lichens of Belarus (Tomin, 1938, publ. 1939) included a key to 344 species and a conspectus of 342 species, with short morphological diagnoses. The general peculiarity of Tomin's handbooks is their ‘broad approach' – they include not only the species recorded in Belarus, but still not found here, but known from other areas of Eastern Europe. The handbook on crust lichens of European part of the USSR (Tomin, 1956) is the most fundamental lichenological monograph issued in Belarus. It contains descriptions of 767 species and 52 ‘pseudo-halftone' illustrations demonstrating micromorphology of selected species.
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Title page of the paper by Kreyer (1913) |
Cover of the book by Tomin (1936) |
Cover of the book by Tomin (1937) |
Cover of the book by Tomin (1938, publ. 1939) |
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Cover and title page of the book by Tomin (1956) |
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‘pseudo-halftone' illustration of Graphis scripta and Opegrapha atra from the book by Tomin (1956) |
Since 1950s the lichens recording was continued by Nina Gorbach (Semenova). Her Candidate thesis abstract (Semenova, 1953) included a list of 72 species collected in forests of Neharelae Forest Economy (Minsk oblast). Ninty-two species were identified and discussed in the thesis. The first handbook by Gorbach (1965, Identification…) on foliose and fruticose growth forms included descriptions of 140 species, line drawings for 6 species, and 62 halftone illustrations of lichen thalli on 22 plates. The second handbook by Gorbach (1973) was devoted to all growth forms. It includes keys to 344 species and their descriptions, 46 line drawings, and 27 plates with 70 halftone illustrations.
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Cover and title page of the handbook by Gorbach (1965) |
Cover and title page of the handbook by Gorbach (1973) |
Line drawings of Xylographa abietina and Bacidia populorum from the book by Gorbach (1973) |
Ukrainian lichenologist Mariya Makarevicz published a list of 13 species collected together with E. Roms in Belavezhskaya Pushcha (Makarevicz, 1960). Data on the species from Belarus were included in the series ‘Handbook of the lichens of the U.S.S.R.', volumes 1, 3–5 (Makarevicz, 1971; Rassadina, 1975; Makarevicz, 1977; Golubkova & Trass, 1978) continued as ‘Handbook of the lichens of Russia', volumes 6–9 (Golubkova, 1996, 1998, 2003; Andreev & Roms, 2004). For instance, 36 species from the first issue (Makarevicz, 1971) were referred to the BSSR area.
Insarov and Pchelkin (1982) in a brochure devoted to lichen monitoring reported 41 species observed on tree trunks in Byarezinski Biosphere Reserve, including one lichen-like fungus Stenocybe sp.
Since 1983 lichen record data were being published by Vladimir Golubkov and Natal'ya Kobzar'. Checklist of Belavezhskaya Pushcha Hunt Reserve lichens by Golubkov (1987), deposited as a manuscript in VINITI, includes 280 species. Golubkov and Titov (1990) reported 32 species of calicioid lichens. Eleven species were published for the first time for Belarus by Golubkov (1993, New…). Seventeen species were briefly described, illustrated, and mapped in the 2nd edition of Belarus Red Data Book (Golubkov, 1993, Lichens…). The same kind of data were published for 24 species in the 3rd edition of the Red Data Book (Golubkov & Kobzar, 2005). Golubkov and Yesis (1997) published a preliminary list of 185 species known on Minsk eminence. Kobzar (2006) published a list of 234 species collected in Belarus and stored in lichen section of V.F. Kuprevich Institute of Experimental Botany Herbarium (MSK-L). Some records of lichens were published by Chernyshov, e.g. a list of 78 species found in Lahoisk district (Chernyshov, 2003). Since 2004 lichen records were being published by Aleksandr Yatsyna and Andrei Tsurikov. E.g. Yatsyna reported a list of 54 species found in an old park near Minsk (Yatsyna, 2005). Tsurikov published a list of lichens found in Gomel City (2005).
Taxonomic novelties. In all three new species, 3 new varieties, and 17 new forms based on the material from Belarus were proposed; single new combination was published.
The work by Kreyer (1913, reprinted 1915) included the descriptions of 2 new species, 2 new varieties and 9 new forms. The first new species, Biatora areolata (p. 336–339, Latin diagnosis on p. 338–339), was collected near Subatshevo and Smol'yany. Later a new combination was proposed for this species – Lecidea areolata (Kreyer) Kreyer ex Zahlbr. (Zahlbruckner, Cat. lich. univ. 3: 734, 1925). Its holotype deposited in LE was examined by Ch. Printzen, monograph of the genus Biatora. He considered Lecidea areolata as illegitimate name. Printzen (1995: 160) wrote, that this taxon is possibly identical with L. cellularis J. Lowe which comprises, in aggregation with L. furfuracella Nyl., an undescribed species. The second new species, Verrucaria sylvana (p. 404–406, Latin diagnosis on p. 406), was collected near town Orsha (‘Orscha' in original source). The new varieties described in this paper are: Lecania syringea var. pulla (p. 314, with Russian diagnosis only), Lecanora carpinea var. inquinata (p. 305, with Russian diagnosis only), both were collected near Smol'yany, and Variolaria lactea var. arborea (p. 321-322, Latin diagnosis on p. 322). The last variety was collected near Smol'yany by the author and near town Dobrush in SE Belarus by V.P. Savicz (‘Dobrusch' and ‘W. Sawitz' in the original spelling). The new forms are: Buellia punctiformis f. ochroleuca (p. 384), collected near Orsha, Cladonia fimbriata var. simplex f. epistelis (p. 361-362, Latin diagnosis on p. 362), Evernia thamnodes f. terricola (p. 281), collected ‘in viciniis pagi Alexandria prope opp. Orscha', Lecania syringea var. pulla f. nuda (p. 314-315, Latin diagnosis on p. 315), collected near Smol'yany, Lecanora carpinea f. caesio-nigra (p. 304-305, Latin diagnosis on p. 307), collected near Smol'yany, L. carpinea f. carneo-fuscescens (p. 305-306, Latin diagnosis on p. 307), collected near Smol'yany by Kreyer and near Dobrusch by V.P. Savicz, L. coilocarpa f. albo-crustacea (p. 310), collected near Smol'yany, Lecidea fuscocinerea f. subgyrosa (p. 345), collected near Orsha, and Rinodina turfacea var. nuda f. minor (p. 380), collected near Smol'yany. Besides, he published a Latin diagnosis for Lecanora carpinea f. typica Kreyer (p. 306) and reported a new taxon ‘Saccomorpha arenicola Elenkin nov. sp.' (p. 390) with the notation that its detailed description will given by A.A. Elenkin later.
In 1914 L.I. Ljubitzkaja (p. 189–192) published a detailed protologue with Latin diagnosis for a new combination formulated as ‘Variolaria (?)arborea (Kreyer) Ljubitz. combin. nov.' for the taxon Variolaria lactea (Pers.) Ach. var. arborea Kreyer. The very uncommon feature of this taxonomic innovation was using question-mark in the taxon name. Later Ljubitzkaja (standard abbreviated form of the name is ‘Ljub.') published under the name L.I. Savicz.
Several years later Oksner (1924: 33) published a new form Parmelia perlata (L.) Ach. f. sorediifera (collected in Tivoli near Minsk), accompanied by very short Latin diagnosis. It should to note that under the same name J. Müller Argoviensis described a lichen in 1891.
Married couple Savicz in the text of their paper (1924: 63) mentioned six new forms: Evernia prunastri f. epiphylla, Parmelia physodes f. epiphylla, P. papulosa f. epiphylla, P. sulcata f. epiphylla, Physcia hispida f. epiphylla, Usnea florida f. epiphylla. These forms were published without any diagnoses and are very doubtful since evidently based on substratum peculiarities of the specimens only – growing on spruce needles.
One year later Savicz (1925: 16) proposed a new form Variolaria faginea f. concentrica (collected in Zhornovskaya Forest Dacha), with short preliminary Russian description, without Latin diagnosis. The author wrote that the additional material demands for detailed diagnosis.
Gorbach in the article devoted to the genus Alectoria in Belarus (1965, Lichens…) published two new taxa proposed by Bystrek: Alectoria motycii Bystr. sp. nova (p. 56) and Alectoria setacea var. tominii Bystr. var. nova (p. 57), but as nomen nudum – without Latin diagnoses.
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* The author transliterated this name in Latin diagnoses as ‘Smoljany', ‘Smoliany', and ‘Smolyani'.