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

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

who spent his entire professional career at

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

, where he became Head of Mycology and assistant keeper of the

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, 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 sh ...

. A leading authority on tropical

agaric An agaric () is a type of fungal 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. It is a type of mushroom (or toadstool) ...

s, he described 11 new genera and over 180 species of fungi during expeditions to regions including East Africa, the Caribbean, and South America. He authored more than 200 scholarly articles and 35 books on fungal

systematics 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: phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phy ...

whilst also producing popular

field guide A field guide is a book designed to help the reader identify wildlife (flora or fauna or funga) or other objects of natural occurrence (e.g. rocks and minerals). It is generally designed to be brought into the " field" or local area where suc ...

s, and received the Distinguished Mycologist Award from the

Mycological Society of America Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, ...

upon his retirement in 1998. His contributions to mycology have been honoured with several species named after him and with two fungal genera, '' Pegleromyces'' and '' Peglerochaete''.

Early life and education

Pegler developed an interest in

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

during his childhood, joining natural history societies and bird-watching groups. This led to his fascination with

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

, which eventually shaped his academic career. He entered

Wye College The College of St Gregory and St Martin at Wye, commonly known as Wye College, was an education and research institution in the village of Wye, Kent. In 1447, Cardinal (Catholic Church), Cardinal John Kempe founded his chantry there which also ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1957 to study

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

but later transferred to Chelsea College to pursue biology. In 1960, he completed his first degree and began his mycological career at

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 ...

, where he studied under mycologist R.W.G. Dennis. Pegler remained at Kew throughout his professional life, advancing to become Head of Mycology and assistant keeper of the

by the time of his retirement.

Career and contributions

Pegler's academic research initially focused on the fungal flora of the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

and later expanded to

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

. He distinguished himself as an authority on tropical

s, earning his PhD in 1974 with a thesis on "Agarics of East Africa". His doctoral work later formed the foundation for his comprehensive work, "A preliminary agaric flora of East Africa", published in 1977 through

HMSO The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the U ...

. In 1989, Pegler received a DSc from London University in recognition of his extensive research on Agaricales. During an expedition to

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

in 1968, Pegler and his colleague W.T. Stearn collected more than 1,000 specimens, adding approximately 300 species new to science. He later expanded his research to tropical regions worldwide, including the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. His work resulted in the description of 11 new genera and over 180 species of agarics.

Publications and legacy

Pegler's prolific output included more than 200 scholarly articles and 35 books. Among his notable works were comprehensive treatments of British fungi families such as

Boletaceae The Boletaceae are a Family (biology), family of mushroom-forming fungi, primarily characterised by small pores on the spore-bearing hymenium, hymenial surface (at the underside of the mushroom), instead of Lamella (mycology), gills as are found ...

Amanitaceae The Amanitaceae is a family of mushroom-forming fungi. ''Amanita'' Pers. is one of the most speciose and best-known fungal genera. The family, also commonly called the amanita family, is in order Agaricales, the gilled mushrooms. The family con ...

Paxillaceae The Paxillaceae are a family of mushroom-forming fungi bearing close affinity to the boletes. Collectively, the family contains nine genera and 78 species. The type genus is ''Paxillus'', containing fungi with decurrent gills, and '' Gyrodon'', w ...

Agaricaceae The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus ''Agaricus'', as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae. Taxonomy The family Agaricaceae was publishe ...

, and

Pluteaceae The Pluteaceae are a family of small to medium-sized mushrooms which have free gill attachment and pink spores. Members of Pluteaceae can be mistaken for members of Entolomataceae, but can be distinguished by the angled spores and attached gills ...

. He made significant contributions to popular mycology as well, producing field guides including ''Mushrooms'' (1983, co-authored with D.A. Reid), ''The Mitchell Beazley Pocket Guide to Mushrooms and Toadstools'' (1980), and a series of "How to identify" guides focusing on

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from " eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

and

poisonous mushroom Mushroom poisoning is poisoning resulting from the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxic substances. Symptoms can vary from slight gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. Mushroom toxins are secondary metabolites produced by th ...

s. Following his retirement in 1998, Pegler received the Distinguished Mycologist Award from the

, and was elected an honorary member of the

British Mycological Society The British Mycological Society is a learned society established in 1896 to promote the study of fungi. Formation The British Mycological Society (BMS) was formed by the combined efforts of two local societies: the Woolhope Naturalists' Fiel ...

. He maintained a deep interest in

ethnomycology Ethnomycology is the study of the historical uses and sociological impact of fungi and can be considered a subfield of ethnobotany or ethnobiology. Although in theory the term includes fungi used for such purposes as tinder, medicine ( medicinal ...

, studying the cultural significance of fungi, including

hallucinogenic mushroom Hallucinogenic mushrooms are mushrooms that have hallucinogenic effects in humans. Such mushrooms include: * Psilocybin mushrooms (also known as "magic mushrooms" or "psychedelic mushrooms") (e.g., ''Psilocybe'' mushrooms) * Psychoactive ''Amanita ...

s in Middle America and the domestication of edible species in

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

Eponyms

A fungal genus '' Pegleromyces'' (family

Tricholomataceae The Tricholomataceae are a large family of fungi within the order 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. t ...

) published in 1981 by

Rolf Singer Rolf Singer (June 23, 1906 – January 18, 1994) was a German mycologist and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist of gilled mushrooms (agarics). He wrote the book "The Agaricales in Modern Taxonomy (biology), Taxonomy". He fled to various countries d ...

, then genera '' Peglerochaete'' 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''; : 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 name and ...

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'' 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'' Courtec. 1984 *'' Melanospora pegleri'' D.Hawksw. & A.Henrici 1999 *''Rhodocybe pegleri'' T.J.Baroni 1999 (now '' Clitocybe pegleri'') Pegler has published more than 250 research papers and several books, largely on fungal

. 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 fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

'' from 1987 to 1993.

Selected publications

* * *

References