Kálmán Vánky: Smut Fungi of the World

The book was welcomed by the mycological community. Based on five (1-5) book reviews, I will  characterise it shortly, showing also some opinions (See the list of five book reviews below).

(5): This monograph by Kálmán Vánky is a culmination of more than 50 years of dedicated work and passion for smut fungi. The author, who started studying smut fungi as an amateur while practising medicine, is now a world authority on the subject. He is currently the director of the richest and most comprehensive smut herbarium in the world (Herbarium Ustilaginales Vánky, HUV). He has written articles and books and has travelled to more than 50 countries covering all five continents collecting smut fungi, checking type collections in herbaria and personal collections. 

(1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5): The sole attempt to publish a world monograph is that of Zundel (1953, 410 pp.). It appeared 8 years after the author passed away, contains many errors, was published lithographed, in a small number, nearly inaccessible, old-fashioned. 

 (3): The keenly-awaited world monograph of the smut fungi (2): is an astonishing publication, wonderfully presented, starting with its fascinating cover.  . . . . it occurred to me that it might soon be regarded the "Holy Book of Smut Fungi' because it's such an impressive work

(2): This book is a monumental work crowning more than half a century of Dr. Kálmán Vánky's life dedicated to this important and fascinating fungal group. (1): Only few smut fungi are common, but as plant pathogens they have a great economic importance. Most of the  “classical” smut fungi are rare, therefore they are so interesting for research purposes.

(5): The monograph will be useful to mycologists, plant pathologists, ecologists, molecular biologists and plant conservationists, and will remain an essential ready reference for researchers in the field of smut fungi.

      (2):  This book can already be regarded one of the most important contributions to mycology in the XXI century, and will certainly be the most important textbook for the smut fungi for decades to come.

Chapters and content of the world monograph

·       Preface by  Dr. Sándor Tóth (1918) (pg. III).

·       Introduction (V-VI).

·       Classification of the smut fungi and allied genera (IX-X).

·       Key to the genera of smut fungi based on host plant families (XI-XVII).

·       Detailed descriptions of the genera (93) and species belonging to them (1688), arranged alphabetically, including keys to the species.

·       For each species, after the nomenclatural data, the symptoms produced on the host plants are described (often illustrated by line drawings), the micrographs of the spores / spore balls /sterile cells (in LM and in SEM), enumeration of the host plants and a rough geographic distribution are given (1-1318 pp.).

·       Doubtful, excluded or invalidly published taxa (1319-1334).

·       Addenda (Description of 37 new species, published after the manuscript was finished) (1335-1343).

·       Selected smut fungus literature (1345-1409).

·       Genera of hosts and the smut species that affect them (1411-1428).

·       Index of fungal names (1429-1458).

      Book reviews

(1) Klenke F. 2012. Buchrezension. - Zeitschrift für Mykologie 78:231-233.

(2) Soares D.J. 2012. Smut Fungi of the World - Inoculum 63:24.

(3) Denchev C. 2011. Book review - Mycologia Balcanica 8:146.

(4) Klenke F. 2012. Book review - Czech Mycology 64:233-234.

(5) Sharma N.D. 2012. Book reviews - Current Science 102:1316-1317.