GRAPHIS SCNIPTA - Universitetet i Oslo

Rainar Hakulinen (1918-1991), a link in the Finnish tradition of
lichenologr
TEUVOAHTI
Ahti, T. 1993: Rainar Hakulinen (1918- L99I), a link in the Finnish tradition
of lichenology. Graphis Scripta 5: l2l-L24. Stockholm. ISSN 0901-7593.
An obituary is given of the Finnish lichenologist Rainar Hakulinen. He was
known as a specialist in the ta:ronomy of the lichen famrly Candelariaceae. In
1949-1%8 he authored a macrolichen flora of Finland and numerous articles
on the biogeography and ecology of boreal and Arctic lichens, with special
reference to Finland, northern Nonray and Russian Karelia. He edited many
fascicles of the lichen exsiccata Lichenotheca Fennica. All his lichenological
publications (40) are listed.
Teuvo Ahti, Department of Botan!, P.O. Box 47, FIN-00014 University of
Helsinki, Finland
Dr. Rainar Alarik Hakulinen passed away on
29 December L99I at his home in Hlmeenlinna
at the age of 73; he was born at Kurkijoki
on 9 October 1918. Kurkijoki is a Karelian locality
well-known to lichen ta:ronomists, since
another Finnish lichenologist, Veli R6sinen,
worked there for many years and studied the
lichen flora of the area intensively. This formerly
Finnish area, located on the northwest
shore of the huge l,ake l-adoga (the largest
lake in Europe), which now belongs to the
Karelian Republic and is part of Russia. After
having left his home region in 1944 Hakulinen
never visited the area again, though it would
have been possible in recent years.
In 1941-44 Hakulinen served in the Finnish
army in war against Russia. For much of
the time he was at the frontier at the Svir
(Sryeri) River south of the present Russian
Karelia. He was wounded more than once so
that he spent several months in military hospitals,
including a stay in a hospital in Stockholm
during the war.
Hakulinen got interested in lichens
through Risinen during his school years at
Kurkijoki and made field excursions together
with him, maintaining his interest when studying
biology and geography at the University of
Helsinki since t945. In 1954 he published and
presented his Ph. D. thesis on the talronomy of
the lichen genus Candelariclla.It was primarily
based on Fennoscandian material, in Finland
largely collected by himself, but also included
the other species of the genus. The family
Candelariaceae Hakulinen, norv commonly
accepted, was established in his thesis. After
the university studies Hakulinen acted as a
secondary school teacher, first at KyrO (near
Turku) where his o\iln formerly Karelian
school was located in evacuation, but soon
settled down at Himeenlinna for the rest of
his life.
Hakulinen primarily studied the distribution
and ecology of the Finnish lichens. For
that purpose he travelled and collected in
many provinces, publishing floristic lists and
treatments of various groups with distribution
maps. In 1946 he started from the J) /eskylii
region, central Finland, paying special attention
to rock lichens. later he collected near