About

The Illinois Natural History Survey (ILLS) Fungarium contains more than 70,000 specimens, including basidiomycetes, ascomycetes, imperfect fungi, lichens, zygomycetes, oomycetes, and myxomycetes. The collection also possesses 995 type specimens, mostly ascomycetes and imperfect fungi, including 235 holotypes and 555 isotypes and/or paratypes.

Specimens come from across North America, with notable strengths in Illinois plant pathology, aquatic ascomycetes from the United States and Canada, and a smaller ascomycete set from the neotropics. In recent years, INHS has brought together additional holdings:

• 2011 — University of Illinois (ILL) Fungarium, with over 95,000 specimens and 4,009 types, and Southern Illinois University’s fungal collection of 8,000 specimens
• 2013 — Eastern Illinois University’s fungal collection of 15,000 specimens.

Together, these bring the INHS Fungi Collection to more than 183,000 specimens, ranking it among the ten largest fungaria in the United States.

The collection traces its origins to the rust and powdery mildew collections of A.B. Seymour (1881–1886) and T.J. Burrill (1882–1885). Expanded between 1921 and 1924 with emphasis on plant diseases, it grew by 18,000 specimens in that period. Since then, generations of scientists — including Gilbert L. Stout, Gideon H. Boewe, Leo R. Tehon, James C. Carter, J. Leland Crane, and Andrew N. Miller — have contributed specimens and expertise, shaping the collection into an invaluable resource for mycological research.

To learn more about our rich history, visit the History page.