Josiah Lincoln Lowe (13 February 1905 – 30 April 1997) was an American mycologist who specialized in the study of

polypore Polypores, also called bracket or shelf fungi, are a morphological group of basidiomycete-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi that form large fruiting bodies called conks, which are typically woody, circular, shelf- or bracket-shaped, ...

s. Lowe was born in

Hopewell, New Jersey Hopewell is a borough in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Centrally located within the Raritan Valley region, this historical settlement (and its neighboring township of the same name) is an exurban commuter suburb of New York ...

, where he attended primary school and high school. In 1927, he graduated with a

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

degree from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1938, with Calvin H. Kauffman and

Edwin Butterworth Mains Edwin Butterworth Mains (1890–1968) was an American mycologist. He was known for his taxonomic research on the rust fungi (Pucciniomycetes), the genus '' Cordyceps'', and the earth tongues ( Geoglossaceae). Biography Edwin Butterworth Mains wa ...

as his main academic supervisors. His doctoral thesis was entitled ''The genus ''Lecidea'' in the Adirondack Mountains of New York''. That year, he started his academic career at the

College of Forestry This is a list of tertiary educational institutions around the world offering bachelor's, master's or doctoral degrees in forestry, agronomy, animal sciences, or related fields. Where noted, the country's accreditation board standard has been us ...

, a position he held for almost 40 years. Lowe was the president of 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, ...

in 1960. He retired in 1975 and became an

emeritus professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

. In the 1980s, Lowe was diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

; he died in Syracuse. Several 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 honor, including the species '' Leptoporus lowei'' Pilát, '' Lindtneria lowei'' M. J. Larsen, '' Ploioderma lowei'' Czabator, and '' Polyporus lowei'' Burdsall & Lombard, and the genera '' Loweporus'' J. E. Wright, '' Loweomyces'' (Kotl. & Pouzar) Jülich.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Josiah Lincoln 1905 births 1997 deaths American mycologists Syracuse University alumni University of Michigan alumni People from Hopewell, New Jersey New York State College of Forestry 20th-century American botanists