Commission on Fungi (2007-2013)

Chair:        S. Onofri, Viterbo

Secretary:        G. Venturella, Palermo

Members:         C. Denčev, Sofia
                       D. L. Hawksworth, Madrid
                       B. Ivančević
                       D. Minter, U.K.
                       J. Mouchacca, Paris

2008. The Commission has been pursuing its idea of an OPTIMA Meeting devoted exclusively to Cryptogams, and has for that purpose established contacts with its sister Committees working on other cryptogamic groups. Unfortunately, the original idea of a Meeting in Montpellier (France) had to be abandoned. Contacts are under way with the University of Trieste (Italy) to organize such an event in 2011 or 2012.

2007. The Commission met in Pisa. It agreed to the plan of organising an OPTIMA meeting on fungi and, subject to participation of the other avascular plants’ Committees, lichens and bryophytes. Such a meeting could take place in Montpellier in autumn 2009. It could have a common theme, shared by all, such as Conservation and Biodiversity, and could be organised jointly with other (e.g. national) mycological or phytopathological associations.
The Commission will work toward a Mediterranean Checklist of Fungi (for which the Italian Checklist constitutes the starting point) and to create a database with Mediterranean literature, to be made available on line.

2005. The Checklist of Italian Basidiomycetes, entitled "Check-list dei funghi italiani - Parte I - Basidiomycetes" was published in 2005 by the scientific publisher Carlo Delfino editor & C. s.n.c. The 384-page volume contains a list of 4198 fungal taxa collected from Italian regions. The following data are reported for each species: nomenclature references, synonyms, criticism, endemicity, esoticity, rarity, laws, distributions in the regions and relative bibliography.

The new international journal "Mycologia Balkanica", created with the participation of OPTIMA member Dr. Cvetomir Denchev from Bulgaria , was first published in 2004. Volume 2 (1) corresponding to the “Catalogue of the lichenized and lichenicolous fungi of Bulgaria ” was published in February 2005. Volumes 2(2) and 2(3) were published in June 2005 and November 2005, respectively.

2004. The Checklist of Italian Basidiomycetes, entitled "Check-list dei funghi italiani - Parte I - Basidiomycetes" will be published by Carlo Delfino editor & C. s.n.c., a scientific publisher that will promote, diffuse and commercialize 1000 hardback copies of the book. The 500-page volume contains a list of 4337 fungal taxa collected from Italian regions. The following data are reported for each species: nomenclature references, synonyms, critique, endemicity, exoticity, rarity, laws, distributions in the regions and relative bibliography.

This work was carried out with the financial support of the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Instruction, University and Research. Its publication will be funded by the Italian Botanical Society and the University of Tuscia .

At a forum of Mediterranean mycology held in Palermo , the need for a working group of Mediterranean mycologists was recognised. Thus, one of the objectives of the Fungi Commission for the next three years is to consolidate the different groups of Mediterranean mycologists that are working in parallel. One possible activity in this direction is to promote a meeting or a round table discussion on Mediterranean mycology.

A new international journal on mycology entitled "Mycologia Balkanica" has been created with the participation of OPTIMA member Dr. Cvetomir Denchev from Bulgaria and the first issue of this journal has already been published.

This page last updated 02 November, 2009.