This 100th anniversary volume of Bibliotheca Lichenologica, pays tribute to the diversity in lichenology. Multiple, cosmopolitan aspects of the research on lichens in its breadth are reflected in the large variety of subjects covered in 18 chapters by 37 authors from 13 countries.

The chapters document recent developments in taxonomy, phytogenetic analyses, phylogenetic research, fl oristic studies and lichen ecology, and - again - a large number of newly described taxa, keys to the identifi cation of Usnea, and details of current analytical work.

A personal review by Ingvar Kärnefelt of past and present contributors to lichenology. His biographical sketches provide a good measure of the multi-faceted nature of lichenology and of the expertise involved in its development, paying tribute to Bibliotheca Lichenologica's anniversary.

The volume was carefully edited by three prominent and active members of the lichenological community, Arne Thell, University of Lund, Sweden, Mark R. D. Seaward, University of Bradford, United Kingdom, and Tassilo Feuerer, University of Hamburg, Germany.

Lichenology often considered as a narrow scientific field by non-lichenologists. However, we know well, how diverse fields are represented in it. Consequently, it is not surprising for us that 100 volumes of the series Bibliotheca Lichenologica have been published on various research topics strictly focused on lichens. It took 36 years from 1973. The first scientific advisor for compiling the series was the famous professor Josef Poelt who was followed by the excellent editor of the series, Volkmar Wirth in 1983. He has devoted even more of his time to this activity since then.

Among the various topics covered, there were taxonomic and geographic monographs, morphological, lichenochemical, ecological and bioindication studies, proceedings of symposia, Festschrifts dedicated to the most outstanding colleagues. The earlier grey cover turned to be a fresh pale green during the years perhaps to show that the series is still young and many more important results will appear in the following volumes. There were changes also inside which make the volumes more attractive by publishing even colour photographs due to the recent digital techniques. A short summary is available on the back cover on the 100th volume not found on the cover of volume 99.

The hundredth volume – published as a celebration – contains a selection of papers representing topics as it was a selection of the volumes of the whole series to make it colourful like a rainbow. The first of the 18 chapters is an outline on the history of the series by Ingvar Kärnefelt and Volkmar Wirth. The other 35 authors write about the genus Traponora (Aptroot), Usnea (Randlane et al.), lichens of Armenia (Harutyunyan and Mayrhofer) or the Baltic Sea (Schiefelbein), estimation on the diversity of tropical lichens and lichens worldwide (Lücking et al.), the relation of lichens and the vegetation (Bültmann and Däniels),phylogenetic analysis based on DNA sequences (Fedorenko et al.), cultured mycobionts and their lichen substances (Stocker-Wörgötter and Elix) and there are further important contributions not mentioned here.

Kärnefelt also writes about history of lichenology presenting exceptional personalities. It is a really difficult topic if he likes to concentrate only on 50 of them. To write about persons is a hard task and it can never be really objective. The evaluations and details on people lived in various times (era) cannot be in the same level with those of whom are living now, especially if they are young enough to produce more important results for lichenology in the future, too. Therefore, in his place I would have concentrated on those who had died already or would have increased the number of lichenologists presented to 100 (to be similar with the number of volumes). As editor of one of the volumes, I noticed a small spelling (?) error on p. 345: Scripta Lichenologica. Lichenological papers dedicated to Antonín Vězda was published in 1995 (Farkas et al. 1995) when Vězda was 75 (not 70) years old. Still this paper is one of the highlights of the whole volume, which represents a real milestone in history of lichenology. Therefore, the 100th volume is a must to have!

E. FARKAS

Acta Botanica Hungarica 52 (1-2), 2010

This edition of Bibliotheca Lichenologica is the 100th volume of the series and is dedicated to Dr. Volkmar Wirth, a celebrated lichenologist from Germany. Wirth’s contributions to lichenology number over 140 publications from 1969 to present including a paper in this volume. Wirth has been editor of this periodical since 1983.

The one-hundredth volume includes new research in the areas of updated phylogenies of larger groups of lichens, taxonomy, ecology, floristics, and photobionts of the lichen-forming fungi. The papers were submitted by an impressive number of lichenologists, mainly from Europe. Several of the papers focus on lichens found in understudied regions of the Continent. The colored photography in this issue adds to its value, clearly defining characters found in the taxonomic submissions. This book will be a wonderful reference for the taxonomic literature of lichens.

Of particular interest is the phylogenetic analyses of fungal families in Ascomycota, specifically Lobariaceae, Teloschistaceae, Thelocarpaceae, and Vezdaeaceae. These papers help to clarify relationships between lichen species within the families. Fedorenko, Stenroos, Thell, and Kärnefelt describe their phylogenetic analysis of xanthorioid lichens in Teloschistaceae, examining over 200 specimens from 50 genera, and looking at the ITS and mtSSU sequences. Högnabba, Stenroos, and Thell explain phylogenetic relationships and evolution of photobiont associates in Lobariaceae, including a number of taxa from the southern hemisphere. The phylogenetic position of ephemeral lichens in the Thelocarpaceae and Vezdaeaceae are examined by Lumbsch, Zimmermann, and Schmitt. The placement of Thelocarpon and Vezdaea does not appear to be in Lecanoromycetes, but a closer association with Pezizomycotina.

Clarification in lichen taxonomy is presented in two papers. Kondratyuk, Kärnefelt, Elix, and Thell discuss contributions to the family Teloschistaceae, with particular references to the Southern Hemisphere – thirty-five new species are described. A key to European species of Usnea by Randlane, Tõrra, A. Saag, and L. Saag presents 32 species with short descriptions, a key, images, and maps.

Lücking, Rivas Plata, Chaves, Umaña, and Sipman offer a paper describing how to estimate the number of tropical lichens that could potentially be found on a world-wide basis. A calculation of 28,000 species is based on species-area relationships. Other important papers include contributions by Aptroot on the genus Traponora, Hafellner on the genera Phacographa and Phacothecium, Knudsen and Kocourková studying three species of Polysporina, Bültmann and Daniëls examined lichen and vegetation relationships with a focus on the Thamnolietum vermicularis microcommunity, Harutyunyan and Mayrhofer on the lichens of Armenia, Hansen and Hasholt discuss the radial growth of twenty-two epilithic lichens on south-east Greenland, Schiefelbein on the maritime lichens of the Baltic Sea, and several other topics of interest.

Of particular interest is the paper by Ingvar Kärnefelt entitled “Fifty influential Lichenologists”. This piece provides short biographies of the lichenologists from past to present. Starting with Simon Schwendener in the 1880s, who is credited with discovering the lichen symbiosis, the paper takes you to prominent Lichenologists who are doing ground-breaking work in lichen phylogenetic, taxonomy and floristics of understudied regions of the world. If your favorite lichenologist is not mentioned, you might find them in one of the many pictures of lichenologists.

This anniversary volume of Bibliotheca Lichenologica is one that would be of interest to any lichenologist and mycologist wanting to complete the set of this publication. This volume gives us a better understanding of lichen taxonomy and floristics. For mycologists, the papers focusing on lichen-fungal phylogenies add insights into the Division Ascomycota. The ecological papers provide methodologies that could be useful to anyone involved with fungal vegetation studies.

This volume will be a collector’s choice to any mycologist and certainly lichenologists. The papers are well written and offer useful insights into what is currently known about several areas of lichenology.

Katherine Glew, University of Washington Herbarium

Inoculum 61(3), June 2010