Mall Vaasma (22 February 1945 – 4 December 2009) was one of

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

's top

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 ...

s. She graduated from the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

in 1974 with a degree in

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. After her graduation, she worked as a senior lab assistant for Department of Mycology at the Estonian Institute of Zoology and Botany from 1973 and at the Natural History Museum of the University of Tartu from 2008 until her death in 2009 after being struck by a motorist while crossing the road in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

. She also co-authored a number of works on mushrooms.

References

External links

Photo at Looduskalender
(Estonian)
News of her death on eElurikkus
(Estonian)
News of her death
on

Postimees is an Estonian daily newspaper established on 5 June 1857, by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. In 1891, it became the first daily newspaper in Estonia. Its current editor-in-chief is Priit Hõbemägi. The paper has approximately 250 employees. ''P ...

, December 7, 2009 (Estonian) Estonian mycologists 1945 births 2009 deaths University of Tartu alumni Road incident deaths in Estonia Pedestrian road incident deaths Women mycologists 20th-century Estonian women scientists {{Estonia-stub