David Norman Pegler (born 2 November 1938) is a British

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...

. Until his retirement in 1998, he served as the Head of Mycology and assistant keeper of the

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

at the Royal Botanic Gardens in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

. Pegler received his

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

from

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

in 1960, thereafter studying tropical

Agaricales The fungal order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms (for their distinctive gills) or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The order has 33 extant families, 413 genera, and over 13,000 described species, alo ...

with

R.W.G. Dennis Richard William George Dennis, PhD (13 July 1910 – 7 June 2003), was an English mycologist and plant pathologist. Background and education Dennis was born in Thornbury, Gloucestershire, the son of a schoolmaster. He was educated at Thorn ...

as his graduate supervisor. He earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1966, and a PhD in 1974 (both from London University). His graduate thesis was on

agaric An agaric () is a type of fungus fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. In the UK, agarics are called "mushrooms ...

s of east Africa, later published as ''A preliminary agaric flora of East Africa'' in 1977. In 1989, London University awarded him a

DSc DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

for his research into the Agaricales. A fungal genus '' Pegleromyces'' (family

Tricholomataceae The Tricholomataceae are a large family of mushrooms within the Agaricales. Originally a classic " wastebasket taxon", the family included any white-, yellow-, or pink-spored genera in the Agaricales not already classified as belonging to e.g. th ...

) published in 1981 by

Rolf Singer Rolf Singer (June 23, 1906 – January 18, 1994) was a Germany, German-born mycologist and one of the most important Taxonomy (biology), taxonomists of gilled mushrooms (agarics) in the 20th century. After receiving his Ph.D. at the University ...

, then genera ''

Peglerochaete ''Peglerochaete'' is a genus of fungi in the family Tricholomataceae. This is a monotypic genus, containing the single species ''Peglerochaete setiger'', found in the Indian state Sikkim and reported as new to science in 1983. The genus name of ...

'' from India, (also in the family Tricholomataceae) by Sarwal & Locq. in 1983, and also several other fungal

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

have been named in his honour: *''

Cuphophyllus pegleri ''Cuphophyllus'' is a genus of agaric fungi in the family Hygrophoraceae. ''Cuphophyllus'' species belong to a group known as waxcaps in English, sometimes also waxy caps in North America or waxgills in New Zealand. In Europe, ''Cuphophyllus'' sp ...

'' Lodge 1999 *'' Deconica pegleriana'' (Guzmán) Ram.-Cruz & Guzmán 2012 *'' Endogone pegleri'' Y.J.Yao 1995 *'' Entoloma pegleri'' Courtec. 1984 *''

Favolaschia pegleri ''Favolaschia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Mycenaceae. The genus has a widespread distribution, and contains about 50 species. Like the genus Favolus, the name is derived from the Latin ''favus'' meaning ''honeycomb'', as the fungi with t ...

'' Parmasto 1999 *'' Inocybe pegleri'' Sarwal 1983 *''

Inonotus pegleri ''Inonotus'' is a genus of fungi in the family Hymenochaetaceae. The genus, described by Petter Karsten in 1879, is estimated to contain about 80 species ''sensu lato'' and 30 species ''sensu stricto'' (in the strict sense). The name comes from ...

'' Ryvarden 1975 *'' Lactarius pegleri'' Pacioni & Lalli 1992 *''

Marasmius pegleri ''Marasmius'' is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi in the family Marasmiaceae. It contains about 500 species of agarics, of which a few, such as ''Marasmius oreades'', are edible. However, most members of this genus are small, unimpressiv ...

'' Courtec. 1984 *''

Melanospora pegleri ''Melanospora'' is a genus of fungi within the Ceratostomataceae family. Species *'' Melanospora aculeata'' *'' Melanospora affine'' *'' Melanospora angulosa'' *'' Melanospora anomala'' *'' Melanospora antarctica'' *'' Melanospora arachnophila ...

'' D.Hawksw. & A.Henrici 1999 *''Rhodocybe pegleri'' T.J.Baroni 1999 (now ''

Clitocybe pegleri ''Clitocybe'' is a genus of mushrooms characterized by white, off-white, buff, cream, pink, or light-yellow spores, gills running down the stem, and pale white to brown or lilac coloration. They are primarily saprotrophic, decomposing forest grou ...

'') Pegler has published more than 250 research papers and several books, largely on fungal

systematics Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic tre ...

. He was

senior editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edito ...

of the scientific journal ''

Mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...

'' from 1987 to 1993.

Selected publications

* * *

References

1938 births British mycologists Alumni of the University of London Living people {{Mycologist-stub

Selected publications

See also

References