Arthur Disbrowe Cotton British Mycological Society 1905

Arthur Disbrowe Cotton, OBE (15 January 1879 – 27 December 1962) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

plant pathologist Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungus, fung ...

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...

, phycologist, and

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

. A.D. Cotton was born in London and educated at

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London and ...

and the

Royal College of Science The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from th ...

, where he completed a degree in botany in 1901. He became a demonstrator there and subsequently at

Owens College Owens may refer to: Places in the United States *Owens Station, Delaware *Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota *Owens, Missouri *Owens, Ohio *Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with the name * Owens Bro ...

, Manchester, where he developed an interest in

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

, undertaking research into

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

mycorrhizas A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant ...

. In 1904 he was appointed assistant to George Massee, head of mycology and

cryptogamic plants A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant (in the wide sense of the word) or a plant-like organism that reproduces by spores, without flowers or seeds. The name ''Cryptogamae'' () means "hidden reproduction", referring to the fact ...

at the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

. Cotton remained at Kew till 1915, officially working on

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

, but also making time to pursue his particular interest in

clavarioid fungi The clavarioid fungi are a group of fungi in the ''Basidiomycota'' typically having erect, simple or branched basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the ground, on decaying vegetation, or on dead wood. They are colloquially called club fun ...

. During this time Cotton collaborated with Elinor Francis Vallentin. Vallentine supplied Cotton with numerous specimens enabling him to undertake the first comprehensive study of

Cryptogams A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant (in the wide sense of the word) or a plant-like organism that reproduces by spores, without flowers or seeds. The name ''Cryptogamae'' () means "hidden reproduction", referring to the fact ...

from the Falkland Islands. In 1915 he took charge of a newly established Plant Pathology Laboratory at Kew (later moved to the

Rothamsted Experimental Station Rothamsted Research, previously known as the Rothamsted Experimental Station and then the Institute of Arable Crops Research, is one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, having been founded in 1843. It is located at Harp ...

) and in 1920 became Mycologist to the

Board of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c.30) and at that time called the Board of Agriculture, and then from 1903 the Board ...

. In 1922, he returned to Kew to become Keeper of the Herbarium, a post he retained till his retirement in 1946. A.D. Cotton was President of the

British Mycological Society The British Mycological Society is a learned society established in 1896 to promote the study of fungi. Formation The British Mycological Society (BMS) was formed by the combined efforts of two local societies: the Woolhope Naturalists' Field ...

in 1913 and President of the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

between 1943 and 1946. He received an OBE for services to plant pathology in 1934.Ainsworth, G.C. (1996). ''Brief biographies of British mycologists''. Stourbridge: British Mycological Society During his career he published a number of papers on plant pathology, fungi, and algae, as well as co-authoring the first seven parts of the supplement to Elwes' ''Monograph of the genus''

Lilium ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

. He also described several new taxa of fungi and algae. The marine algal genus ''Cottoniella'' Boergesen and the species ''Fucus cottonii'' M.J. Wynne & Magne were named after him. He had married botanist Enid Mary, daughter of John Charles Jesson, in 1913. They had a son and a daughter.

Sample Publications

*Cotton, A.D. (1906). Marine algae from Corea. ''Kew bulletin of miscellaneous information'' 1906: 366-373 *Cotton, A.D. (1907). Marine algae from the Chatham Islands. ''Kew bulletin of miscellaneous information'' 1907: 37-43. *Cotton, A.D. (1907). Notes on British ''Clavariae''. ''Transactions of the British Mycological Society'' 2: 163-166 *Cotton, A.D. (1909). Notes on marine pyrenomycetes. ''Transactions of the British Mycological Society'' 3: 92-99, 1 plate. *Cotton, A.D. (1912). Clare Island Survey. Marine algae. ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy'' 31B(15): 1-178, 11 tables. *Cotton, A.D. (1914). Some suggestions as to the study and critical revision of certain genera of the ''Agaricaceae''. ''Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc.'' 4: 224-235 *Cotton, A.D. (1915). Cryptogams from the Falkland Islands collected by Mrs Vallentin. ''Journal of the Linnean Society Botany'' 43: 137-231, tabs 4-10 *Cotton, A.D. & Wakefield, E.M. (1919). A revision of the British ''Clavariae''. ''Transactions of the British Mycological Society'' 6: 164-198 *Grove, A. & Cotton, A.D. (1933–40) ''Supplement to Elwes' Monograph of the genus Lilium'', Parts 1-7. London *Cotton, A.D. (1936). Marine algae. ''Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London'' 148: 45-49.

References

External links

*
Arthur Disbrowe Cotton finding aid
collection at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew archives. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotton, Arthur Disbrowe Cotton, Arthur Disbrowe Cotton, Arthur Disbrowe British Mycological Society English mycologists Presidents of the Linnean Society of London