The paper and printing quality of the book are high. The structure of the book is logical and consistent, the text is easy to read and the illustrations (both microphotographs and line drawings) are of excellent quality. The book is intended for mycology students, professional as well as experienced amateur mycologists who will find this book to be a concise and clearly written compilation. What makes this publication an essential key reference is the fact that the available information is not only compiled, but also thoroughly evaluated by the first author. This is only possible due to the excellent longtime research experience of CLÉMENÇON in this field. It is therefore an indispensable reference for anyone describing microscopical features of hymenomycetes.

The book consists of the following 11 chapters which give a comprehensive detailed presentation of hymenomycete anatomy and cytology: 1. Basic concepts, 2. The hyphae of the hymenomycetes, 3. The Mycelium, 4. Mitospores of the hymenomycetes, 5. Basidia and basidiospores, 6. Cystidia, pseudocystidia and hyphidia, 7. Pigment topography, 8. Bulbils, sclerotia and pseudosclerotia, 9. Basidiomes, 10. Carpogenesis, 11.Associations of hymenomycetes with other organisms. Each chapter is introduced by a historical overview before defining, illustrating and evaluating the technical terms. All terms introduced are well-illustrated by numerous excellent figures. There is also often a list of terms which should not be used due to logical inconsistencies or misinterpretations.

There is no doubt that this book will become an essential standard reference for anyone interested in hymenomycete biology, cytology, anatomy, ontogeny or taxonomy, and it is warmly recommended. The authors are to be congratulated on their book!

HERMANN VOGLMAYR

Österreischische Zeitschrift für Pilzkunde 13 (2004)

Persoonia 18/3, 2004

Clemencon's book (published with the linguistic assistance of Ernest and Valerie Emmett), summarizes what is known about basidiome, hymenium and tramal tissue development, and the microscopic (and sometimes fine structural) structures and distinguishing processes which delineate these manifestations of the fifth kingdom. As if phylogenetic reconstructions based on DNA sequences were not sufficiently rattling the traditional walls of hymenomycete systematics, the finely sliced terminology suggested by Clemencon should return old workers to their microscopes and encourage young workers to at least put the book on their library shelf for a lifetime of reference. The concepts within its covers, well-illustrated by numerous photographic plates (mostly original by the author) and many line drawings (usually borrowed from published work by others), not only represent a lifetime of collecting and parsing by the author, but the very fundamentals underlying the fruit bodies we all take for granted. In my country these days, much is made of `connecting the dots' of classified intelligence in order to predict (and therefore throttle) future terrorist activities. In the field explored by Clemencon, numerous phenomena are summarized which, if their `dots' had been connected, could have presaged some of the recent phylogenetic work. For instance, chiasto- and stichobasidial nuclear behaviour (p. 141) was outlined late in the 19th century, and applied to Hymenomycetes sporadically through the 20th. Stichobasidial behaviour linked Cantharellus, Craterellus, Clavulina and Hydnum, much later Multiclavula, and by implication, Tulasnella. Now, much later, DNA tells the same story, but for reasons psychobiological, workers seem more apt to believe the DNA evidence than that which was before them for over a century. Likewise, nematostatic and(or) nematocidal structures (pp. 73­74) were shown in cultures of Pleurotus and Hohenbuehelia many years ago, but the metuloids (p. 209) of Hohenbuehelia seemed to separate that genus from the other. Now, DNA confirms that the two genera form a monophyletic clade no more typical of the Tricholomataceae than many other sister clades.

Formally, the book is divided into 11 chapters, the first seven of which deal with microstructural items (i.e. Hyphae of Hymenomycetes; The mycelium; Mitospores, basidia and basidiospores; Cystidia, pseudocystidia and hyphidia; and Pigment topography). Using the table of contents and index, all terms and topics are easily found. The last chapters deal with organizational phenomena (i.e. Bulbils, sclerotia and pseudosclerotia; Basidiomes; and Carpogenesis) and, finally, even larger ideas (i.e. Associations of Hymenomycetes with other organisms). The detail of the coverage may be represented by noting that there are 17 pages on rhizomorphs and mycelial cords and 75 pages on carpogenesis.

Another societal nuance which has come to the attention of the American public these days is the distinction between reportage and opinion. Increasingly, news is being delivered, packaged with a not-too-hidden agenda by news companies. So it might be with Clemencon's book. Most of the book is reportage, historical, detailed, and pertinent. But Clemencon has not been without his own interpretation of observations over the years (see his many published papers), and this book uses and rationalizes his own system of terminology and causality. If accurate, this causes no harm, but if merely conjectural, it has the effect of reducing reliability on other, indisputable facts.

Altogether, Clemencon's volume deserves a place on the desk of all hymenomycete workers, whether in systematics, genetics, or physiology, for it will serve as a reference work as surely as does a dictionary or thesaurus. Especially in these days in which we demand so much `modern' knowledge of graduate students that they cease to be exposed to the traditional fundamentals, such students will do well by owning this volume. It will be the baseline for years to come.

Ronald H. Petersen

Department of Botany, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-1100, USA

Mycol. Res. 109 (1): 125­128 (January 2005)

Following a brief chapter on basic concepts related to basidiomycete life cycles, the volume includes chapters on cytoplasmic structures of hyphae, mycelial dynamics, architecture and specialized structures, mitospores, basidia and basidiospores, cystidia, pseudocystidia and hyphidia, pigment topography, bulbils, sclerotia and pseudosclerotia, basidiomes, carpogenesis, and structures formed by hymenomycetes as part of interspecific associations. Clémençon not only surveys key features, but also presents an organized framework for classifying observed morphologies, often including dichotomous keys or comparative charts to illustrate these classifications. The author endeavors to clarify the descriptive terminology of hymenomycete morphology by illustrating historical uses and identifying misapplications of terms, introducing new terms where warranted and rejecting confusing ones. In discussing particular structures, Clémençon often provides an array of species-specific examples to illustrate the range of known morphological variation; his sections on rhizomorphs, spore wall architecture and sclerotia are particularly fine examples of this point. Clémençon also discusses the role of temporal and spatial variation in character states e.g., changes in the characteristics of a secretory hypha over time or over the length of a single hypha, and identifies examples where this variation may lead to confusion in describing traits. Terms and concepts are clearly illustrated with a wealth of impressive line drawings and micrographs, 632 figures in total, often taken by the author himself and, when so, clearly labeled with the stain or mounting medium used in preparation.

A rather long chapter devoted to carpogenesis recognizes the importance of observing features at the cellular level as a key to understanding developmental patterns in basidiome production. While providing succinct descriptions of the elements of carpogenesis for a diverse selection of species from corticioid, mucronelloid and cyphelloid to clavarioid, cantharelloid, polyporoid, agaricoid and boletoid species including secotioid forms, the chapter also serves to reveal how much is yet unknown about developmental phenomena in hymenomycetes.

The volume closes with an interesting chapter on morphological aspects of interspecific interactions involving hymenomycetes. While important for the sake of completeness, the section on mycorrhizae provides little information that is not available in a multitude of other sources. However, the sections on interactions with algae, termites, and ants are quite informative, and the sections on interactions with bacteria and bryophytes are intriguing though necessarily short due to the lack of a substantial body of research in these areas.

The author succeeds in his goal of compiling a treatment of the fundamental aspects of hymenomycete morphology in a single volume and, in doing so, makes a compelling statement on the importance of anatomical studies. This volume should serve as an invaluable reference for workers in the fields of anatomy, physiology, ecology and systematics of hymenomycetes. Although the book provides ample examples suggesting the importance of anatomical details for revealing taxonomic affinity and natural classifications, it should include more discussion of phylogenetic patterns; most discussions relating morphology to molecular phylogenies rely on a single publication (Moncalvo et al., 2002, Mol. Phylog. Evol. 23: 357-400). The morphological classification systems proposed by Clémençon appear to be improvements, sometimes vastly so, over older systems based on less-complete sampling, older technology, and/or misapplied terminology; however, evaluating these systems against the measure of homology assessment will help to reveal whether their utility extends beyond mere operationality. The use of terminology will probably always be fertile ground for disagreement, the title's use of the term "plectology" vs. the more widely-used "histology" perhaps being a case in point. However, in this volume, Clémençon makes an important effort toward clarifying unclear or misleading terms. Although other workers may disagree with some elements of the terminology proposed, Clémençon always offers cogent explanations for his choices of terms. The advanced amateur mycologist interested in the cellular and sub-cellular details of hymenomycete morphology should find plenty of subjects to be of interest here, though individuals primarily interested in the basic microscopic details relevant to mushroom identification would be better served by a book such as David Largent's How to Identify Mushrooms to Genus III: Microscopic Features, as Clémençon's volume does not include descriptive terms for features such as basidiospore and cystidal shapes.

The scope of this volume is largely descriptive by design; however, without explicit discussion, each section evokes numerous questions about the physiology, ecology and evolution of the hymenomycetes. Professor Clémençon not only surveys what is known about the cellular and subcellular morphology of hymenomycetes, but reminds us what is unknown about these topics and, implicitly, about the life cycles and biology of this important group of fungi. This volume should serve both to foster a more complete appreciation for morphological knowledge and to inspire research in diverse areas of mycology.

Todd W. Osmundson Institute of Systematic Botany and Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics Studies, New York Botanical Garden Bronx, NY 10458 tosmundson@nybg.org

Reprinted with permission from Incolulum © The Mycological Society of America