Aims, Organisation

The Mycological Society (DGfM) was founded in 1921 as ‘Deutsche Gesellschaft für Pilzkunde“, DGfP, aiming at the promotion of scientific mycological research, of knowledge of fungal species and of ‘Pilzberatung’ (Deliberation on Fungi). Karl Johannes Kniep, Professor of Plant Physiology, of the universities of Freiburg and Würzburg, later of Berlin, took over the chair of the society. At this time, the journal ‘Zeitschrift für Pilzkunde’ was established.

In 1977 the society changed its name to ‘Deutsche Gesellschaft für Mykologie’. The name of the society’s journal was consequently altered to ‘Zeitschrift für Mykologie’.
Since the beginning of 2002, DGfM has published the journal Mycological Progress.
DGfM has trained PilzsachverständigeDGfM (‘Specialists in Fungi’) and in 1990 established an integrated training system for the unified Germany.

Since the foundation of the Mycological Society several internationally well known and acknowledged mycologists - professionals as well as amateurs – have been active in the society. Some representative members are mentioned below.

Adalbert Ricken (1851-1921) attended the Seminary for Roman Catholic Priests in Fulda, Germany, and acted in many localities as R. C. curate and priest. The standard work ‘Die Blätterpilze Deutschlands und der angrenzenden Länder, besonders Österreichs und der Schweiz’ was published in 1915. His ‘Vademecum für Pilzfreunde. Taschenbuch zur bequemen Bestimmung aller in Mittel-Europa verkommenden ansehnlicheren Pilzkörper’ published in 1918 (second edition 1920) developed into the most important German book for identification of fungi, which was used till the second half of the 20th century. Adalbert Ricken belonged to the initiators of the foundation congregation of the German Mycological Society (DGfP), but passed away before that event.

Karl Johannes (Hans) Kniep (1881-1930) studied medicine in Kiel and Jena, Germany, and Genève, Switzerland, obtained his doctoral degree in Jena, supervised by E. Stahl, worked together with E. Pfeffer in Leipzig, Germany, afterwards in Norway, and qualified to lecture in 1907 in Freiburg i. Br., Germany. In 1911 he became a Professor in Strassburg, France. In 1914 he changed to Würzburg, Bavaria, became Dean and from 1923 to 1924 Rector of the university. In 1924 he got a professorship as Plant Physiologist in Berlin. Kniep’s investigations about cytology and genetics of fungi are of fundamental importance with respect to developmental history of Basidiomycota.

Matthias Sebastian Killermann (1870-1956) studied catholic theology and natural history in Fribourg, Switzerland and Regensburg, Bavaria. He got his doctoral degree 1893 in natural history and was ordained as a priest in 1895. After that he was a ‘Studienpräfekt’ and professor at the theological college in Regensburg. Killermann’s working interests were fungal flora, history of mycology, and fungal systematics. Particularly important is his contribution to ‘Hymenomycetes’ in the 6th volume of A. Engler and K. Prantl’s ‘Natürliche Pflanzenfamilien’

Julius Schäffer (1882-1944) studied theology and taught natural history, later he studied natural science for high school teachers in Dresden, Germany, and Triest, Italy. For many years he was a teacher in Potdam, Germany, and stayed in Upper Bavaria from 1939. Of mycological importance are his systematic studies on Agaricales, particularly on the genus Russula. In 1933 his first monographic study of the genus Russula appeared. Later he revised this genus for the series ‘Die Pilze Mitteleuropas’ (1926-1967); in 1962 a still-essential rework was published.

Franz Kallenbach (1893-1944) was educated as a teacher in the Ernst-Ludwig-Seminary in Bensheim, Germany, and was later a teacher in Darmstadt, Germany. In the series ‘Die Pilze Mitteleuropas’ (1926-1967) he revised the boletoid fungi and created a still-essential monographic study of this fungal group.

Walther Neuhoff (1891-1971) studied in Berlin, Germany, later in Königsberg, where he obtained his doctoral degree and was a teacher from 1911. After 1945 he lived near Hamburg, Germany. In the series ‘Die Pilze Mitteleuropas’ (1926-1967) he revised the jelly fungi and the genus Lactarius. A new edition appeared in 1956, which is still used today.

Hermann Jahn (1911-1987) studied in Cologne and Kiel, Germany, and taught till 1941 at a German School in Japan, received his doctoral degree with an ornithological thesis on Japanese birds. He was employed by the German embassy in Sweden and taught at a high school after World War II. Jahn earned great merits in mycology, due to his popular books on fungi (1949, 1979) that made many enthusiastic about mycology, and due to his revisions of identification keys, e.g. for poroid and stereoid fungi.

Rolf Singer (1906-1994) studied Chemistry and Biology in Munich, Bavaria, and Vienna, Austria, and received his doctoral degree, supervised by R. Wettstein, in Vienna 1933. He emigrated during National-Socialists time to Spain. Between 1936 and 1941 he worked in St. Petersburg, the interim Leningrad, Russia, afterwards in USA, Argentina, Chile and Brasil. From 1968 until his death he did research at the Museum of Natural History in Chicago, interrupted by some stays in Switzerland. Singer worked preferably on the systematics of the Agaricales, Russulales, Boletales, and Polyporales s.l. His main work ‘Agaricales in modern taxonomy’ (1st ed. 1951, 4th ed 1986) remains one of the most important standard books of Basidiomycete-systematics.

Alfred Einhellinger (1913-1999) was from1939, with some interruptions owing to World War II, the First Violinist and later, till 1970, Chamber Musician of the Münchner Philharmoniker, Bavaria. His mycological masterwork was the monographic study of the Bavarian Russula species. The third edition of which came out two years after the original publication in 1985 and it was widely acknowledged far beyond Bavaria. In December 1995 he was given the award of the Bavarian Academy of Science, for his scientific research.

German Josef Krieglsteiner (1937-2001) was educated as a teacher for secondary schools for Biology and Music and taught lastly at the Pedagogic College in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany. The main part of his work was the ecology of higher fungi. These results appeared in 1991 in the ‘Verbreitungsatlas der Großpilze Deutschlands (West)’ and 1993 in the ‘Einführung in die ökologische Erfassung der Großpilze Mitteleuropas’. Since 1994 G. J. Krieglsteiner was Honorary Chairman of the German Mycological Society (DGfM). Of the series ‘Die Großpilze Baden-Württembergs’ only the first two volumes (2000) he lived to see, the third and the forth volume appeared posthum.

Meinhard Michael Moser (1924-2002) studied Biology, Chemistry, and Physics in Innsbruck, Austria, obtained his doctoral degree with a thesis on water ecology of Higher fungi. He developed new methods for inoculation of trees with ectomycorrhizal fungi in the Forest Research Institute Imst, Austria. His identification book ‘Die Röhrlinge und Blätterpilze’ in the series ‘Kleine Kryptogamenflora’, simply called ‘Der Moser’, and issued with several editions, was translated into English and Italian. It set high standards for the identification of Basidiomycetes. From 1968 till 1991 Moser taught as Professor of Microbiology at the University of Innsbruck. For decades he investigated above all the genus Cortinarius s. l. The monographic study ‘Die Gattung Phlegmacium (Schleimköpfe)’ appeared in 1960 as volume 4 of the series ‘Die Pilze Mitteleuropas’. On Elias Fries’ tracks, Moser collected many fungal species at their ‘loci classici’ thereby providing new insights into frequently misinterpreted species. The edition of the ‘Farbatlas der Basidiomyceten’ (1985-2002) with hundreds of photos was intended to improve species interpretation. His countless expeditions throughout the world and in all vegetation types rendered possible deeper insights into fungal relationships, ecology and distribution.

DGfM -> Aims/Organization