Kurt Egon Hjortstam (1933–2009) was a Swedish mycologist, specialising in the taxonomy of corticioid fungi.
Kurt Hjortstam | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 July 1933 Alingsås, Sweden |
| Died | 9 December 2009 (aged 76) |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Known for | Contributions to taxonomic mycology |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mycology |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Hjortstam |
Kurt Hjortstam received no formal education beyond primary school, but as an adult developed an interest in the vascular plants of Sweden. During an excursion with the Gothenburg Botanical Society he met Prof. John Eriksson who encouraged him to take up the study of corticioid fungi (fungi forming effused fruit bodies on wood).[1] This resulted in the publication of a joint paper in 1969 describing several new species.[2]
In 1971 he was engaged as an assistant at the University of Gothenburg to work as co-author on the eight-volume reference work, Corticiaceae of North Europe.[3] He was later taken on as an assistant at the University of Oslo where he had access to Prof. Leif Ryvarden's extensive collections of tropical corticioid fungi. Hjortstam developed his expertise in tropical species, visiting Brazil, and was latterly employed as a taxonomic mycologist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Gothenburg in 1989.[1]
Altogether, Kurt Hjortstam authored 139 scientific papers,[4] describing 54 new genera and 181 new species of corticioid fungi.[1] The genera Kurtia[5] and Hjortstamia[6] are named in his honour, as well as the species Hyphoderma hjortstamii,[7] Tomentella hjortstamiana,[8] and Xylodon hjortstamii.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c Larsson KH, Ryvarden L. "Kurt Hjortstam (1933-2009) in memoriam" (PDF). Synopsis Fungorum. 27: 7–9.
- ^ Eriksson J, Hjortstam K (1969). "Four new taxa of Hyphodontia (Basidiomycetes)". Svensk Botanisk Tidskr. 63: 217–232.
- ^ Hjortstam K, Larsson KH, Ryvarden L (1987). Corticiaceae of North Europe. Vol 1. Oslo: Fungiflora. ISBN 978-82-90724-03-5.
- ^ Larsson KH, Ryvarden L. "Publications by Kurt Hjortstam" (PDF). Synopsis Fungorum. 27: 10–19.
- ^ Karasinski D (2014). "Index Fungorum: Taxonomic novelties 141" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-06-29.
- ^ Boidin J, Gilles G (2002). "À propos du genre Lopharia sensu lato (Basidiomycètes, Aphyllophorales)". Bulletin de la Société Mycologique de France. 118 (2): 91–115.
- ^ Wu SH (1990). "The Corticiaceae (Basidiomycetes) subfamilies Phlebioideae, Phanerochaetoideae and Hyphodermoideae in Taiwan". Acta Botanica Fennica. 142: 1–123.
- ^ Suvi T, Tedersoo L, Abarenkov K, Beaver K, Gerlach J, Kõljalg U (2010). "Mycorrhizal symbionts of Pisonia grandis and P. sechellarum in Seychelles: identification of mycorrhizal fungi and description of new Tomentella species". Mycologia. 102 (3): 522–533. doi:10.3852/09-147.
- ^ Riebesehl J, Yurchenko E, Nakasone KE, Langer E (2019). "Phylogenetic and morphological studies in Xylodon (Hymenochaetales, Basidiomycota) with the addition of four new species". MycoKeys. 47: 97–137. doi:10.3897/mycokeys.47.31130. PMC 6405736. PMID 30858753.