Chicago Region Summary

Chicago Publications

1909, 1923, W. S. Moffatt, The Higher Fungi of the Chicago Region, Chicago Academy of Sciences
- 420 names [110 current names; 270 synonyms; 40 excluded names]
- About 15 species that are not represented by past or present collections
1933, V. O. Graham, Mushrooms of the Chicago Region, Chicago Academy of Sciences, 21 pages
1944, V. O. Graham, Mushrooms of the Great lakes region: the fleshy, leathery, and woody fungi of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and the southern half of Wisconsin and of Michigan, The Chicago Academy of Sciences and the Chicago Natural History Museum, — 390 pages

Chicago Collections

1876–1925: Harper, Moffatt, and other collectors
1926–1993: Edgecombe, Singer, and other collectors
1994–present: Leacock, Gaswick, Murphy, Schmit, and others

2,625 Collections 1876–1993 (118 years of herbarium collections)
20,325 Collections 1994–2011 (18 years of local research)

Checklist, status as of 2013 January

Approximate total from above sources = 2290 names.
- ca. 1020 names in current use
- ca. 630 synonyms
- ca. 265 excluded names (European names or outside area; incorrect concepts; spelling variants)
- ca. 375 names remaining to determine status
Possible total of current names = 1300 taxa (a taxon = species, subspecies, or variety)

Estimated minimum diversty of macrofungi, as of 2013 January

1150 species for the Chicago Region
815 spp. for Cook County (Chicago Region)
450 spp. for Swallow Cliff Woods (Cook County)
235 spp. in 0.1 hectare Plot 4 (Swallow Cliff Woods)
140 unique to Cook County (at present)
- 120 from Forest Preserve District Cook County
- 20 from other locations, primarily urban
- Likely 100 additional unidentified species for Cook County

Page Details and Links

Moffatt 1909, Plate IX Fig. 1

Moffatt, 1909, described Pholiota comosa and noted: "On decorticated log of Ulmus americana. Woods. River Forest. October, 1903. Identified by Prof. Peck."

The Field Museum herbarium has this specimen W. S. Moffatt 1006, and also W. S. Moffatt 1069 (1904, same location) as Pholiota destruens. The only other herbarium collections for the Chicago Region were from Cook County in 1937 on "poplar" (M. C. B. Stifler) and 1954 on cottonwood (F. B. Lukas 157); both as Pholiota destruens.

New name and new finds

Collection P. R. Leacock 10632 is Hemipholiota populnea from McHenry County, 2012, growing on a cut down cottonwood. It was found in the same county the previous year on a dead elm tree (P. R. Leacock 9651).

Pholiota destruens and Pholiota comosa are synonyms used before the 1980's.

Agaricus populneus Persoon 1828
Agaricus destruens Brondeau 1829
Agaricus comosus Fries 1838
Nemecomyces mongolicus Pilát 1933

Four published basionym names are considered to be the same species. The species epithet populneus has priority because it was the earliest one. The separation of Hemipholiota populnea from Pholiota is supported by DNA sequence analyses, and the more recognizable genus name Hemipholiota was voted to be conserved over the obscure name Nemecomyces.

For any taxon below the rank of genus, the correct name is the combination of the final epithet of the earliest legitimate name of the taxon in the same rank, with the correct name of the genus or species to which it is assigned, except (a) in cases of limitation of priority under Art. 14, 15, 56, or 57, or (b) if the resulting combination could not be validly published under Art. 32.1(c) or would be illegitimate under Art. 53, or (c) if Art. 11.7, 22.1 or 26.1 rules that a different combination be used.

Article 11.4, International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code), 2011.