CONGRATULATIONS 149 A congratulatory message to Prof. Maria Ławrynowicz from the European Mycological Association The volume of Acta Mycologica celebrates the jubilee of Prof. Maria Ławrynowicz, and the European Mycological Association is proud to contribute a message of congratulations. Prof. Ławrynowicz is a leading and enormously influential figure in European mycology. As a scientist, she is best known for her meticulous and highly respected work on hypogeous fungi, having contributed ex- tensively through high-quality publications to the scientific knowledge of the taxonomy, biology and geographical distribution of these inter- esting and enigmatic species. For humans, who are not blessed with the ability of other mammals to detect scents, hypogeous fungi can seem secretive and notoriously difficult to find. Watching Prof. Ławrynowicz locate their fruitbodies with apparent ease has frequently evoked ad- miration and amazement in equal quantities from fellow mycologists, I asked her once how she did it, and she explained, perhaps only half joking, that maybe in some previous incarnation she had been a mouse. Her humour is like that: gentle and always thought-provoking. Polish mycologists have always had a high profile at the Congresses of European Mycologists, and Prof. Ławrynowicz must now have at- tended more of these meetings then any other living mycologist, her predecessor, colleague, teacher and friend, the late Prof. Skirgiełło being the only other person who had a similar record of participation. Years ago, in the 1980s and 1990s, these two ladies were a regular sight at the Congresses, and what a formidable pair they made! Poland was well represented. As Prof. Skirgiełło faded, it became more chal- lenging for her to attend these events, and European mycologists will remember how she was helped and supported by Prof. Ławrynowicz, so much so that some younger scientists may have even got the impres- sion that the one was the nurse of the other. By her devoted care of an elderly colleague, often to the detriment of her own participation, Prof. Ławrynowicz won universal admiration and respect from her Eu- ropean mycologist friends. 150 If I were to pick a defining moment to illustrate her influence, it would be her role at the European Congress in Oslo in 1985, when she, with a small group of other far-sighted mycologists, set up the European Council for Conservation of Fungi. This was the first group- ing anywhere in the world to address the need for fungi to be pro- tected. Prof. Ławrynowicz was truly a pioneer in fungal conservation. The Council continues to function, and inspired the establishment of similar bodies in other continents and, eventually, the foundation of the International Society for Fungal Conservation of which, not sur- prisingly, she was also a Founder Member. That same preoccupation with infrastructure – something which has chronically been lacking in mycology – led her to become a Founder Member also of the European Mycological Association, which is to- day sending her congratulations. But it was also reflected in her work in Poland. Her influence on Polish mycology is very far-reaching. As Editor-in-Chief, she has been a guiding influence on the very positive development of Acta Mycologica, the Journal in which her jubilee is being celebrated, and as a patient but effective force for change, she has played a great role in the recent establishment of the Polish Mycological Society. She is well aware, however, that infrastructure is nothing without motivated people who can use it to promote myco- logy, and it is that her skills as a teacher shine most brightly. Over the years she has inspired many students who have subsequently gone out into the world with an understanding that fungi are important – that we live on this planet only thanks to the essential role as nature’s recy- clers. Some of those students have become respected and well-known mycologists in their own right. It would be unfair to name some and not others, and I won’t even try, but the fact that they exist is perhaps the greatest achievement of the lady whom we celebrate in this special volume. The European Mycological Association sends her congratulations, and warm wishes for many more years of productive work with the fungi. David Minter President European Mycological Association 151 Maria Ławrynowicz’s jubilee Hypogeous fungi specialists are rare because the study of these mycetes is difficult, indeed, their underground habit means that they are unnoticed and their discovery is often fortuitous, luckily examining herbariums can uproot a mine of information. Dr. Maria Ławrynowicz is one of these specialists such as Hawker in the United Kingdom, Hesse and Gross in Germany, Knapp and Schwärzel in Switzerland, Hol- lós and Szemere in Hungary. In 1988, she publishes her first studies on the Elaphomycetales and the Tuberales in the series “Polish Flora”. She becomes a specialist for the Elaphomycetales and European Tuberales, and publishes the chorological distribution respectively in 1989 and 1990. In 1992, in an article on the truffle geographical distribution in Northern Europe, from the analytical study of samples held in 44 herbariums, she shows the presence of hypogeous fungi, just like epigeous mushrooms and plants vary much more from the South to the North direction than West to East. The presence of Tuber magnatum (Italian white truffle), T. melanosporum (Perigord truffle), T. brumale (winter truffle), T. aestivum (summer truffle), T. mesentericum, and a few species get fewer towards the North. Of those with commercial interest and the northernmost is T. borchii which is present in the whole of Europe up to the limits of the temperate zone. The hypogeous mushrooms depend for their development and geographical distribution on a number of factors such as climate, edaphic, biotic, historical etc. aspects. These factors act in unison and sometimes compensate each other. If Tuber aestivum was first identified in Poland at the end of the XIXth century (1886), and its presence confirmed since 1970, T. mesentericum was only discovered in 1981. Whilst only one species was known up to the fifties (T. aestivum), Maria Ławrynowicz’s research and that of others have identified 13 species of Tuberales: T. aestivum Vitt., T. aestivum Vitt. forma uncinatum (Chatin) Montecchi and Borelli, T. bellonae Quél., T. borchii Vitt., T. dryophilum Vitt., T. excavatum Vitt., T. ferrug- ineum Vitt., T. fulgens Quél., T. maculatum Vitt., T. mesentericum Vitt., T. puberulum Berk. and Br., T. repaeodorum Tul., and T. rufum Pico. Truffles are much more than expensive goods reserved to the privileged, but a produce that is part of our culture and our European identity that we must preserve. Since 2000 Maria Ławrynowicz has taken on board this mission through an active campaign for its culture. Since 2008 truffle orchards with T. aestivum f. uncinatum (Burgundy truffle) have been planted, and more recently with T. melanosporum. It is certain that in the near future, the prestigious Perigord truffle will appear in Poland. Gerard Chevalier The Tuber aestivum/uncinatum Scientific European Group 152 A congratulatory message Dear Professor Maria Ławrynowicz, Ukrainian mycologists from the Department of Mycology at the M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany in Kiev send you warmest con- gratulations on the occasion of your anniversary, the 45th year of your scientific activity. We were delighted to invite and to see you here in Ukraine, in Crimea, during the XIV Congress of European Mycologists in 2003. We also keep good memories of our other meetings at various interna- tional conferences. Your contribution to mycology is well known and highly appreciated. On behalf of all colleagues from our Department of Mycology, let us wish you good health, prosperity and further suc- cessful activity for the welfare of mycological science. With kind regards, Prof. Irina Dudka Head of the Department of Mycology Prof. Vasyl Heluta Principal Scientist Department of Mycology M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine 153 The European Council on Conservation of Fungi (ECCF) congratulates Professor Maria Ławrynowicz on the occasion of her 45th year of scientific activity Prof. Maria Ławrynowicz, at present one of the leading experts in fungal conservation, was one of the initiators and founder members of the ECCF since this organization was established in 1985. Being from the beginning its active member, she became the ECCF chair and made important contribution in development of this European network. As a well-known mycologist, she has significantly contributed to the knowledge of hypogeous and various other groups of fungi, al- ways emphasizing rare and endangered species and necessity of their protection. On behalf of the ECCF members from all European countries, we send to Maria Ławrynowicz our warmest anniversary greetings and wish her further great success in promoting fungal conservation. Sincerely, Beatrice Senn-Irlet ECCF President Vera Hayova ECCF Secretary 154 13.8.1988 1. In nineteen hundred eighty eight There came from West and East To Poland from eleven states Sixteen mycologists. Maria made conditions best And no comfort was missed. Maria is a really good Mushroom protectionist. 2. We came to speak and to discuss Decline of fungal growth We went by foot and went by bus To pine and beech woods both. Maria made us talkative On that Red Data List. Maria is an excellent Mushroom protectionist. 3. TV and press told what we did Concluded, wrote and sealed, To have, five hundred years ahead; Still mushrooms in the field. To have bolets and hygrocybes And truffles and bovists Maria did the best for us Mushroom protectionists. 4. We worked in an excellent wood, We did not fail to sing, But mainly serious work was done, Which some results will bring. Maria and her charming staff Should thousanddfold be kissed Thank you, Maria, Wonderful mushroom protectionist. Hanns Kreisel 155 First meeting of the European Committee for Protection of Fungi, August 11-13.1988 University of Lodz Meeting participants. Front row (from right to left): Eef Arnolds (Wijster) – Presi- dent of ECPF, Maria Ławrynowicz (Łódź), Anna Elise Jansen (Wageningen), Kurt Wöldecke (Hannover), Wanda Lasota (Łódź), Alina Skirgiełło (Warszawa), Kazi-Kazi- mierz Mamos (Łódź), Jolanta Adamczyk (Łódź). Back row (from right to left): Johannes A. Schmitt (Saarbrücken), André Fraiture (Meise), Heikki Kotiranta (Oulu), Bruce Ing (Chester), Yves-L. Delamadeleine (Neuchâtel), Hanns Kreisel (Greifswald), Dieter Benkert (Berlin), Jean Keller (Neu- châtel), Rostislav Fellner (Praha), Johan Nitare (Uppsala), Edward Tranda (Łódź). Photo: Wojciech Maliński Note. The European Committee for Protection of Fungi (ECPF) had been created in 1985 during the 9th Congress of European Mycologists in Oslo, and renamed as the European Council on the Conservation of Fungi (ECCF) in 1989 during the 10th Congress of European Mycologists in Tallin. 2014-09-08T17:36:52+0200 Polish Botanical Society