Lucien Quélet in 1869 Lucien Quélet (14 July 1832 – 25 August 1899) was a French naturalist and

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 ...

. Quélet discovered several species of

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 ...

and was the founder of the

Société mycologique de France The Société mycologique de France (Mycological Society of France), often known by the abbreviation SMF, is an association linking French and French-speaking mycologists. History The society was founded in 1884 in Épinal in the Vosges by thr ...

, a society devoted to mycological studies. Quélet, having been born in

Montécheroux Montécheroux is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography The commune lies from Saint-Hippolyte. Population Notable person * Lucien Quélet (1832–1899) naturalist and mycologi ...

Doubs Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

, was soon orphaned, and spent his childhood with and was raised by his aunts. In his youth, he is known to have shown a great interest in mycology and

botany 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 w ...

in general, but also other subject areas such as

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

and

malacology Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...

, the study of mollusks. He was schooled at the

Montbéliard Montbéliard (; traditional ) is a town in the Doubs Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eastern France, about from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two Subprefectures in F ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

, and later studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. In 1884, he founded the mycological society known as the Société mycologique de France, of which he became the first president. Several years after this, in 1888, Quélet wrote a book, ''Flore mycologique de la France et des pays limitrophes'' (''Mycological flora of France and neighbouring countries''). Quélet also described several species during his mycological research. Some are listed below: *'' Agaricus bitorquis'' *'' Amanita aspera'' *'' Bondarzewia montana'' *''

Clavariadelphus truncatus ''Clavariadelphus truncatus'' is a species of mushroom. The common name of the species is truncated club or club coral. It is a member of the basidiomycete fungi family Gomphaceae. Description The species has a yellow-orange fruiting body in the ...

'' *''

Craterellus tubaeformis ''Craterellus tubaeformis'' (formerly ''Cantharellus tubaeformis'') is an edible fungus, also known as yellowfoot, winter mushroom, or funnel chanterelle. It is mycorrhizal, forming symbiotic associations with plants, making it very challenging ...

'' *'' Collybia cirrhata'' *'' Lepiota aspera'' *'' Lepiota castanea''Quelet L. (1881) ''Comptes rendu Assoc. Franc. Avanc. Sci.'' 9: 661 *'' Russula amethystina'' *'' Tricholoma pardinum'' *'' Xerocomellus armeniacus'' Numerous

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

were named after Quélet to honor his contributions to mycology, including the species '' Amanita queletii'', '' Boletus queletii'', '' Entoloma queletii'', ''

Russula queletii ''Russula queletii'' otherwise known as the gooseberry russula, is a common, inedible, ''Russula'' mushroom found growing in groups, predominantly in spruce forest. Eating this mushroom causes abdominal pains. Description The cap is hemispheric ...

'', and the genus '' Queletia''. Quélet has been described to be a combination of

Petter Adolf Karsten Petter Adolf Karsten (16 February 1834 – 22 March 1917) was a Finnish mycologist, the foremost expert on the fungi of Finland in his day, and known in consequence as the "father of Finnish mycology". Karsten was born in Merimasku near Turku, st ...

and

Paul Kummer Paul Kummer (22 August 1834 – 6 December 1912) was a minister, teacher, and scientist in Zerbst, Germany, known chiefly for his contribution to mycological nomenclature. Earlier classification of agarics by pioneering fungal taxonomist Elias Ma ...

, as far as his conducting of his studies and on his mycological researching skills, as well as by the number of new species he was able to find. Much of Quélet's work proves useful still today, and many of the names given to some of the most common fungi can be traced to Quélet's work. During the last years of his life, Quélet broadened his range of study, perhaps due to eccentricity, as is claimed by some, and began to have new interests in some of the things that fascinated him as a youth –

and

, among others. At the age of sixty-seven, Lucien Quélet died in 1899.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quelet, Lucien 1832 births 1899 deaths French mycologists 19th-century French biologists People from Doubs