Julius Schäffer (3 June 1882 – 21 October 1944) was a German

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogens, as ...

. His contributions include studies on the

Agaricales The fungal order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms (for their distinctive gills) or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The order has 33 extant families, 413 genera, and over 13,000 described species, alo ...

(gilled mushrooms), especially the genus ''

Russula ''Russula'' is a very large genus composed of around 750 worldwide species of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms. They are typically common, fairly large, and brightly colored – making them one of the most recognizable genera among mycologists and mushr ...

'', about which he wrote a

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

in 1933. Later, he revised the genus in the series ''Die Pilze Mitteleuropas'' (1926–1967); his notes were published posthumously by his wife Liesel in 1952 with the help of other mycologists. The work was considered the "authoritative treatment of the group for Central Europe". One of the ''Russula'' species that was first described in this publication was '' R. laeta''. Schäffer developed a

chemical test In chemistry, a chemical test is a qualitative property, qualitative or Quantitative property, quantitative procedure designed to identify, quantify, or characterise a chemical compound or substituent, chemical group. Purposes Chemical testing m ...

to help with the identification of ''

Agaricus ''Agaricus'' is a genus of mushrooms containing both edible and poisonous species, with over 400 members worldwide and possibly again as many disputed or newly-discovered species. The genus includes the common ("button") mushroom (''Agaricus bisp ...

'' species. A positive reaction of Schaeffer's test, which uses the reaction of

aniline Aniline is an organic compound with the formula C6 H5 NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the simplest aromatic amine In organic chemistry, an aromatic amine is an organic compound consisting of an aroma ...

and

nitric acid Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available nitri ...

on the surface of the mushroom, is indicated by an orange to red color; it is characteristic of species in the

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sign ...

''Flavescentes''. The compounds responsible for the reaction were named schaefferal A and B to honor Schäffer. Schäffer is the only mycologist of modern times known to have died from consuming

poisonous mushroom Mushroom poisoning is poisoning resulting from the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxic substances. Its symptoms can vary from slight gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. Mushroom toxins are secondary metabolites produced b ...

s, in this case, ''

Paxillus involutus ''Paxillus involutus'', commonly known as the brown roll-rim, common roll-rim is a basidiomycete fungus that is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. It has been inadvertently introduced to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, ...

''. About an hour after he and his wife ate a meal prepared with the mushrooms, Schäffer developed vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. His condition worsened to the point where he was admitted to hospital the following day, and subsequently developed

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

, perishing after 17 days.

Eponymous taxa

Several species have been named in honor of Schaeffer: *''Agaricus schaefferianus'' Hlavácek 1987 :*now ''

Agaricus urinascens ''Agaricus urinascens'' is a species of mushroom-forming fungus in the family Agaricaceae The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus ''Agaricus'', as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families T ...

'' (Jul. Schäff. & F.H. Møller) Singer 1951) *'' Cortinarius schaefferanus'' ( M.M. Moser) M.M. Moser 1967 *'' Cortinarius schaefferi'' Bres. 1930 *'' Dermocybe schaefferi'' (Bres.) M.M. Moser 1986 *'' Lentinus schaefferi'' (Weinm.) Rauschert 1988 :*now ''

Neolentinus schaefferi ''Neolentinus'' is a genus of wood-decaying agarics with tough (leathery to woody) fruit bodies composed of dimitic tissue, serrated lamella edges, and nonamyloid white binucleate basidiospores among other features. It was segregated from ''Lent ...

'' (Weinm.) Redhead & Ginns 1985 *'' Phyllosticta schaefferiae'' Gonz. Frag. & Cif. 1926 *'' Russula nauseosa'' var. ''schaefferi'' Kill. 1939 *'' Russula schaefferi'' Kärcher 1996 *'' Russula schaefferiana'' Niolle 1943 *'' Russula schaefferina'' Rawla & Sarwal 1983

Selected publications

*Schäffer, J. (1947). "Beobachtungen an Oberbayerischen Blätterpilzen". ''Berichte der bayerischen botanischen Gesellschaft'' 27: 201–225.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaffer, Julius German mycologists 1882 births 1944 deaths Deaths from food poisoning Accidental deaths in Germany