In contrast to the cultivated mushroom (Agaricus bisporus (J. Lange) Imbach) which was first cultivated in the early 18th century in France, the famous Shii-take mushroom (Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler) was cultivated in China centuries earlier, before being developed in Japan and extensively exported throughout the world. Other common names include the Oakwood mushroom, Japanese forest mushroom, Black mushroom, and Pasania. It is a mushroom long valued for both a unique flavour and as a medicinal tonic, for even in the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 CE) it was claimed to be a general stimulant, curing colds, increasing blood circulation and lowering blood pressure.

The majority of the 22 primate species known to eat fungi spend less than 5% of their feeding time doing so. The Goeldi's monkey (Callimico goeldii), a small South American primate, devotes up to 63% of its feeding time to the consumption of Auricularia auricula, A. mesenterica, Ascopolyporus polyporoides and A. polychrous. This may be as much as 6.1kg/animal/year of fresh weight of fungus consumed by an animal weighing half a kilogram; in comparison, the average person in the U.S.A. consumes 1.9 kg/person/year of fresh weight of mushrooms. The nutritional benefits of mycophagy appear to be relatively few, but need to be investigated further. Mycophagy by Goeldi's monkeys may be a strategy for reducing feeding competition during the dry season and likely affects the monkeys' home range size and distribution pattern.

The mycoparasite Krieglsteinera lasiosphaeriae Pouzar was first invalidly and illegitimately published by Arnaud (1951) as Jacobia conspicua from a collection near Paris. Although he thought that the sporophores resembled basidia, he described it as a hyphomycete (characterized by the large clamp-connexions) on the basis of the successive spore production. Pouzar (1987) later collected this fungus from Czechoslovakia and Poland and determined that the sporogenous branches described by Arnau were actually basidia. He appropriately redescribed it as a heterobasidiomycete renaming it Krieglsteinera lasiosphaeriae Pouz. after the German mycologist, J. Krieglsteiner. At the same time it was placed in its own family, Krieglsteineraceae, which is now considered a synonym of Platygloeaceae in the Urediniomycetes (Kirk et al., 2001). Pouzar believed that K. lasiosphaeriae was endangered and should be included in the red data book of Central European mycota owing to the rapid decrease of its host caused by air pollution. However, since then it has been found in Denmark (Læssoe & Lange, 1998) and is now reported here for the first time from England, Norway, Russia and the United States. Krieglsteinera lasiosphaeriae is probably much more abundant than previously thought, but is infrequently observed due to its cryptic nature.

Sometimes progress in mycology is so significant that it contributes to understanding in the wider scientific arena. To reflect this, an ad hoc series of articles will be published in the Mycologist outlining examples of when this has occurred. This, the first of these articles, examines work by Katinka and co-workers who have published a summary of findings about the genetic code (genome sequence) of the fungal parasite Encephalitozoon cuniculi (Nature 414: 450-453; 22/11/2001). Katinka et al. found that although fungi are complex organisms, the cellular machinery required to make a fungus can be very simple.

Boletus roseolateritius is described as a new species from Mississippi, USA and is compared with similar taxa.

Ainsworth & Bisby's Dictionary of the Fungi (9th edition) edited by P. M. Kirk, P. F. Cannon , J. C. David and J. A. Stalpers (2001) Pp. 655. ISBN 0-85199-377-X (Hard cover). CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK. Price £49.95; US$90.

The Dictionary of the Fungi is surely one of the most indispensable of all mycological publications – every student of the fungi should own, or have access to, a copy of the most recent edition. This 9th edition is a worthy scion of the line, and contains a wealth of up-to-date information, much of which can otherwise be found only if one has access to a huge spectrum of publications. Its compilation must have been a daunting task, even for four editors, and even given the background material provided by the previous edition. It is a work of considerable scholarship, and its editors have done a great service to mycology, despite some accusations of incompleteness that can be levelled against it. The first thing that a reviewer must admit is that one cannot possibly keep abreast of all the advances being made in mycological knowledge. This review is, therefore, bound to reflect personal interests (relatively broad as these may be) and prejudices (narrow as they may be). Clearly, it would be impossible to work one's way conscientiously from A to Z in any reasonable time frame. The alternative, which has been adopted, is to do a large number of quick scans and spot checks. My criticisms and recommendations are bound to be different from anyone else's. I hope, however, that they will provide useful indications of the strengths and weaknesses of the book.

Two closely related chemoecological groups of fungi, the ammonia fungi and the postputrefaction fungi, have been associated with the decomposition by-products of cadavers. Sporocarps have been observed in disparate woodlands across the world and often mark sites of graves. These groups of fungi provide visible markers of the sites of cadaver decomposition and follow repeated patterns of successional change as apparent decomposition proceeds. We suggest these phenomena may become a useful tool for crime scene investigation, forensic archaeology and forensic taphonomy.

A new species of corticolous myxomycete, Licea margaritacea, is described from bark of sycamore and Norway maple trees growing by the River Nith in Dumfries.

Name of fungus

Phaffia rhodozyma W. M. Miller et al.

Introduction: Features of interest

Carotenoids are a group of over 600 molecules which can be found in most life forms and fulfil diverse functions, ranging from their original evolutionary role as photosynthetic or light-quenching pigments to antioxidants, precursors of vitamin A, or pigments involved in the visual attraction of animals such as flower pollinators or mating partners (Johnson & Schroeder, 1995). They are also thought to reduce the incidence of cancer and degenerative diseases in man, probably due at least partly to their antioxidant role in protecting sensitive biological molecules from highly reactive oxygen species or free radicals (Bendich & Olson, 1989; Nishino et al., 1999). Carotenoids are synthesized de novo by many bacteria, all photosynthetic algae and higher plants, as well as some fungi, but not by animals which must therefore satisfy any carotenoid requirement they have from their diet. Thus, for instance in marine ecosystems, planktonic algae are thought to be the primary producers of carotenoids which then pass through the food chain, eventually accumulating in crustaceans and fish feeding on them (Johnson & Schroeder, 1995). This is true especially of astaxanthin, a natural derivative of the most abundant carotenoid, ß-carotene, which gives many marine crustaceans as well as salmonid fish their typical orange-red colouration (Johnson & An, 1991). Considerable quantities of astaxanthin must be added to the feed of farmed salmon in order to obtain a healthy crop of fish as well as satisfying the eye of the consumer (Meyers, 1994). Astaxanthin may even contribute to the taste of cooked salmon (Josephson et al., 1991).

Puccinia antirrhini Dietel & Holway is present in England and Wales on Antirrhinum molle L. It has apiculate distal ends to teliospores borne on pedicels which are twice the length of the spores, as is sometimes the case on Antirrhinum majus L.

Some of the participants at the 2001 world model airplane championship contest in Lost Hills, California, took home more than suntans and souvenirs. One participant from the UK and one from Finland became very ill with a flu-like pulmonary disease. They had been infected with Coccidioides immitis, a fungus endemic to the Californian deserts and a few other similar sites in the New World. Their illness, coccidioidomycosis (also known colloquially and historically as Valley Fever, San Joaquin Valley Fever and Gilchrist's Disease) is a mycosis with a rich and remarkable history.