AuthorKnudsen, H. & Vesterholt, J. (eds)
Year2008
TitleFunga Nordica
ISBN978-87-983961-3-0
TypeBook/Report
How CompleteMost of the Nordic species known at the time, although there is only limited coverage in a few genera.
Source966pp, Nordsvamp, Copenhagen
IllustrationsLine drawings
Review (by Malcolm Storey)

A monumental work from a team of 41 authors covering 2675 species of agaricoid, boletoid and cyphelloid basidiomycetes from Scandinavia.

The work consists of a set of dichotomous keys. The first key is to genera. This is followed by a top-down taxonomic structure with keys to orders, then the orders are presented with keys to families, the families with keys to genera and genera with keys to species. Each species entry in the key includes a quite detailed description. The convention is that the distinguishing characters in each couplet finish at the first full stop; the remainder is confirmatory or ecological notes.

The work is fullly uptodate with the latest (hopefully relatively stable) classification based on recent DNA work. This willl offer a challenge when working from the British Basidiomycete checklist as the latter, of necessity, took a conservative view on these changes which were being published while the checklist was in progress.

Included with the book is an installer (Windows and Macintosh) for MycoKey DVD version 3. There are also PDF copies of all the keys in Funga Nordica.

All-in-all a thoroughly useful work which was expected to serve us well for many years to come, except that 4 years later they published a second enlarged 2-volume edition.

Errata, Corrigenda & Comments

The installer doesn’t allow installation of the PDF’s without MycoKey. This is fine for most users, but for people like me who already use Fourth Dimension (the database behind MycoKey) this may cause problems if your own version of 4D is different from that used by MycoKey.

Some of the *Arrhenia* spores (eg *Arrhenia peltigerina*, *retiruga*) cna be variable and don’t always look like the drawings.

NewsMarch 2012: the first edition is out of print following flooding in Copenhagen. A new two-volume edition to include recent taxonomic revisions is planned for late 2012.
Examine Compound Microscope
Notes & PurposeStatusTaxonEnglishClassification
For identificationCurrentAGARICOMYCETIDAEa subclass of basidiomycetesFungi
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