Lloyd Mycological Writings V4.pdf - MykoWeb

LETTER No. 52.
THE NAMED AND MISNAMED SPECIMENS OF THE
EXSICCATAE.
By C. G. Lloyd.
(Cincinnati, June, 1914.)
This pamphlet might be titled with more accuracy "The named and
misnamed specimens of the exsiccatae in the British Museum," for it records
only those I have noted in this museum. There are additional ex-
siccatae in other museums, but nowhere else have I found as many exsiccatae
and as conveniently arranged for taking off a list. Most of the
important exsiccatae are to be found in the British Museum. Very little
mycology is ever learned excepting from specimens, and the various exsiccatae
are a practical means, for all of the important species of Europe and
America are in these exsiccatae and a fair number of those of the tropics.
Unfortunately the value of these exsiccatae specimens is to a large measure
invalidated by the fact that so large a proportion are misnamed. These
misnamed are of three kinds.
1st. We have the synonyms, viz.; names given to species that already
have names. We feel quite tolerant of synonyms, for most of them
originate in good faith. A local worker with limited opportunity finds a
fungus he is unable to determine. He does the simplest thing possible. He
announces that he has discovered a "new species" and gives it a name. In
about one case out of four is it true, and in the other three cases his name
in time becomes a synonym.
2nd. We have the misdetermined specimens of the exsiccatae. It is
unfortunately true that men publish exsiccatae to give information to others
and succeed largely in giving misinformation. So many specimens of even
the common species are mislabeled in the exsiccatae that as a whole no
dependence whatever can be placed on them.
3rd. Juggled names. A name juggler is one who takes a plant with
a well-known and well-established name and changes it on some old, vague
alleged synonym, in many cases not true, and of no importance if it is true.
There is some excuse