Herbarium and Field Studies
Our monographic
studies will take into account collections already available in
major herbaria as well as collections obtained through our own
field studies. The PI has collected many specimens of the Sarcoscyphineae
and the genus Phillipsia, and he has received material
for study and identification from all over the world. These collections
are in the Farlow Herbarium along with those which have been deposited
over a number of years by other workers. Collections of historical
importance that are located in the Farlow are those of N. T. Patouillard,
portions of collections studied by M. J. Berkeley in the M. A.
Curtis Herbarium, and certain other tropical and temperate collections
by R. Thaxter, D. H. Linder, F. von Höhnel and R. Singer.
The PI has visited many herbaria and has taken detailed notes
on collections (some of which has now been entered in DELTA, see
"Dissemination of Results"). Important among these
collections are the Royal Botanic Garden Kew (K) where he studied
many specimens during a sabbatical leave in 1985 and the Laboratoire
de Cryptogamie in Paris (PC), Cornell University (CUP), the New
York Botanical Garden (NY), and the National Fungus Collection
(BPI). It is estimated that these large collections contain about
1,500 specimens. Certain other herbaria will be consulted, particularly
those containing research collections of Sarcoscyphineae such
as OSU where W. C. Denison's collections are located. Other collections
will be consulted for regionally common fungi, such as West Coast
U. S. herbaria for Pseudopithyella minuscula which
has only been collected west of the Rocky mountains in the Continental
U.S. but is known from the Mediterranean and Bermuda.
All specimens collected in this study, including
vouchers of all of those used for molecular or morphological studies,
will be deposited in the general fungus herbarium of the Farlow
Herbarium. The P.I. is the Curator of the Farlow Herbarium and,
with the curatorial staff, manages the collections in accordance
with current standards.
Some field studies will be carried out in
cooperation with Dr. Teressa Iturriaga from the Universidad Simon
Bolivar in Venezuela; a formal agreement with Venezuelan officials
is appended ("Supplementary Documentation"). Where
appropriate, other areas will be collected. For example, Wolfina
aurantiopsis (Ellis) Eckblad (the only species of the genus
Wolfina) is known from a few collections in the Southeastern
United States. Further field studies are needed to determine
its distribution and to attempt with fresh material to grow the
fungus in culture. Likewise it will be important to collect Phillipsia
domingensis in Florida and the Gulf States. A few collections
referred to this species from Florida and Lousiana are present
in FH but detailed field studies are needed to document its occurrence
and allow for cultural studies which might help resolve the ambiguities
about the species in this complex.