Victor Fayod (23 November 1860 – 28 April 1900) was a Swiss
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 created an influential novel classification of the
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) ...
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 ...
and described a number of new
genera
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
and
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
.
Biographical overview
Fayod was born on 23 November 1860 in
Salaz, a small locality close to the municipality of
Bex
Bex (; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland, located in the Aigle (district), district of Aigle. It is a few kilometers south of its sister town municipality of Aigle.
History
Bex is first ment ...
in the Swiss canton of
Vaud
Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of Subdivisions of the canton of Vaud, ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat ...
. He was a grandson of a famous Swiss geologist,
Johann von Charpentier
Jean de Charpentier or Johann von Charpentier (8 December 1786 – 12 December 1855) was a German-Swiss geologist who studied Swiss glaciers. He was born in Freiberg, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire and died in Bex, Switzerland.
Life
...
.
[ After attending school in Bex and Lausanne, he studied ]mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
and later silviculture
Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, as well as quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production.
The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests ...
at the polytechnic institute ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...
. He was strongly interested 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 ...
and mycology
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, genetics, biochemistry, biochemical properties, and ethnomycology, use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, Edible ...
, but his work in those areas had to be conducted in a private capacity.[
Fayod worked with German botanist ]Heinrich Anton de Bary
Heinrich Anton de Bary (26 January 183119 January 1888) was a German surgeon, botanist, microbiologist, and mycologist (fungal systematics and physiology).
He is considered a founding father of plant pathology (phytopathology) as well as the fou ...
in Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
from 1881 to 1882. He then worked as a tutor. He worked in a series of biology-related jobs in Bad Cannstatt
Bad Cannstatt (), also called Cannstatt (until July 23, 1933) or Kannstadt (until 1900), is one of the outer Stadtbezirke, or city boroughs, of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Bad Cannstatt is the oldest and most populous of Stuttgart' ...
, Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
, Nervi
Nervi is a former fishing village 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Portofino on the Riviera di Levante, now a seaside resort in Liguria, in northwest Italy. Once an independent ''comune'', it is now a ''quartiere'' of Genoa. Nervi is 4 miles ( ...
, the Valli Valdesi (a region of the Cottian Alps
The Cottian Alps (; ; ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Rail Tunnel between Modane and Susa, Ital ...
), and Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
. He also assisted French bacteriologist André Chantemesse
André Chantemesse (23 October 1851 – 25 February 1919) was a French bacteriologist born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire.
From 1880 to 1885 he served as ''interne des hôpitaux'' in Paris, earning his doctorate in 1884 with a dissertation on a ...
in Paris. After working in a dental laboratory in Paris in 1890, he decided to take on dentistry
Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...
as a less precarious, alternative career and became qualified as a dental surgeon at the Paris Faculty of Medicine. However, health problems soon caused him to return to Switzerland and his illness continued until his death on 28 April 1900.[
]
Scientific achievements
Fayod learned French, German, and Italian and published scientific papers in all three languages. A bibliography of his work can be found in the reference authored by the Swiss Academy of Natural Science.[
He recognized the influence of Darwinism on botany and devised a new classification of gilled fungi, based for the first time on microscopic features such as ]basidia
A basidium (: basidia) is a microscopic spore-producing structure found on the hymenophore of reproductive bodies of basidiomycete fungi. The presence of basidia is one of the main characteristic features of the group. These bodies are also ...
, cystidia
A cystidium (: cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that are o ...
, and spores
In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...
.Agrocybe
''Agrocybe'' is a genus of mushrooms in the family Strophariaceae (previously placed in the Bolbitiaceae). The genus has a widespread distribution, and contains about 100 species.
Distribution
In Europe, toxic forms are not normally found, but ...
'', ''Cystoderma
''Cystoderma'' is a genus of fungi in the family Agaricaceae or Cystodermataceae. Its family position is in doubt and the family "Cystodermataceae" and tribe "Cystodermateae" have been proposed to include this group following recent molecular w ...
'', ''Delicatula
''Delicatula'' is a genus of fungi in the family Tricholomataceae. It was first described by Swiss mycologist Victor Fayod in 1889. The genus contains two widely distributed species.
See also
*List of Agaricales genera
*List of Tricholomataceae ...
'', ''Omphalotus
''Omphalotus'' is a genus of basidiomycete mushroom, in the family Omphalotaceae, formally circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed by Victor Fayod in 1889. Members have the traditional pileus (mycology), cap and stipe (mycology), stem structu ...
'', ''Pholiotina
''Pholiotina'' is a genus of small agaric fungi. It was circumscribed by Swiss mycologist Victor Fayod in 1889 for '' Conocybe''-like species with partial veils. The genus has since been expanded to include species lacking partial veils.
Taxonom ...
'', and '' Schinzinia''. These genera, which bear his name as originating author, are the main reason that Fayod is still remembered. Some of them are well-known, containing common species, whilst others are less so. He also proposed many other new genus names which are no longer in use.[
Fayod's work focused primarily on the ]Hymenomycetes
Hymenomycetes was formerly the largest taxonomic group of fungi within the division Basidiomycota, but the term is no longer taxonomically relevant. Many familiar fungi belong to this class, including bracket fungi and toadstools. This class c ...
. One major outcome of his research was his description of spore discharge in the basidiomycetes
Basidiomycota () is one of two large division (mycology), divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. Mor ...
, which involves the formation of a drop of liquid.[ He left a collection of biological illustrations and other items which are preserved in the Conservatoire and Botanical Gardens of Geneva.][
The genus '' Fayodia'' (of ]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 ...
in the 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 ...
), was named in his honour in 1930,Pluteus leoninus
''Pluteus leoninus'', commonly known as lion shield, can occasionally be found growing on dead wood in Europe and North Africa. The underside of the cap is typical of the genus ''Pluteus'' — the gills are pale, soon becoming pink when the spor ...
'').[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fayod, Victor
1860 births
1900 deaths
Swiss mycologists
ETH Zurich alumni