Miles Joseph Berkeley (1 April 1803 – 30 July 1889) was an English
cryptogam
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 ...
ist and clergyman, and one of the founders of the science of
plant pathology
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 ...
.
Life
Berkeley was born at
Biggin Hall,
Benefield
Benefield is a civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England, along the A427 road and about east of Corby and west of Oundle.
History
The villages name means 'open land of Bera's people'.
The name has evolved from Benefield (11th century); ...
, Northamptonshire, and educated at
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
and
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...
.
Taking
holy orders, he became
incumbent
The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...
of
Apethorpe
Apethorpe (pronounced "Ap-thorp") is a village, civil parish, in 1837, and vicar of
Sibbertoft
Sibbertoft is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population (including Sulby) was 343 people, increasing to 462 at the 2011 Census.
The village's name means 'curtilage o ...
, near
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire.
Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the adm ...
, in 1868. He acquired an enthusiastic love of
cryptogamic
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 ...
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 ...
(
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.[plant pathology
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 ...]
. Christ's College made him an honorary fellow in 1883.
He was well known as a systematist in
mycology
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 ...
with some 6000 species of fungi being credited to him, but his ''Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany'', published in 1857, and his papers on Vegetable Pathology in the ''Gardener's Chronicle'' in 1854 and onwards, show that he had a broad grasp of the whole domain of physiology and morphology as understood in those days. Berkeley began his work as a field naturalist and collector, his earliest objects of study having been the
mollusca
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
and other branches of
zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
, as testified by his papers in ''
the Zoological Journal
''The Zoological Journal'' was an early nineteenth century quarterly scientific journal devoted to zoology.
It published "Original Communications, Translations of new and interesting Papers from Foreign sources and notices of new and remarkab ...
'' and the ''Magazine of Natural History'', between 1828 and 1836.
As a
microscopist
Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of micr ...
he was an assiduous and accurate worker, as shown by his numerous drawings of the smaller
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 ...
and fungi, and his admirable dissections of
moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
es and
Hepaticae
The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of g ...
. His investigations on the potato murrain, caused by ''
Phytophthora infestans
''Phytophthora infestans'' is an oomycete or water mold, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight or potato blight. Early blight, caused by ''Alternaria solani'', is also often called "pot ...
'', on the
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
mildew
Mildew is a form of fungus. It is distinguished from its closely related counterpart, mould, largely by its colour: moulds appear in shades of black, blue, red, and green, whereas mildew is white. It appears as a thin, superficial growth consi ...
, to which he gave the name ''
Oidium Tuckeri
''Uncinula necator'' (syn. ''Erysiphe necator'') is a fungus that causes powdery mildew of grape. It is a common pathogen of Vitis species, including the wine grape, ''Vitis vinifera''. The fungus is believed to have originated in North America ...
'', and on the pathogenic fungi of
wheat rust,
hop mildew
''Podosphaera macularis'' (formerly ''Sphaerotheca macularis'') is a plant pathogen infecting several hosts including chamomile, caneberrie, strawberries, hop, hemp and ''Cineraria''. It causes powdery mildew of hops.
Host range and sympto ...
, and various diseases of
cabbage
Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...
, pears, coffee, onions, tomatoes, and other plants, were important in results bearing on the life-history of these pests, at a time when very little was known of such matters, and must always be considered in any historical account of the remarkable advances in the biology of these organisms made between 1850 and 1880. When it is remembered that this work was done without any of the modern appliances or training of a properly equipped laboratory, the real significance of Berkeley's pioneering work becomes apparent. It has been said that
As the founder of British mycology, his significant work is contained in the account of native British fungi in Sir
William Jackson Hooker
Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he ...
's ''British Flora'' (1836), in his ''Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany'' (1857), and in his ''Outlines of British Fungology'' (1860). His herbarium 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 ...
, is one of the world's most extensive, containing over 9000 specimens as well as numerous notes and sketches.
Berkeley corresponded with
Anna Maria Hussey
Anna Maria Hussey, ''née'' Reed (5 June 1805 – 26 August 1853) was a British mycologist, writer, and illustrator.
Family and background
Anna Maria Reed was born in Leckhampstead, Buckinghamshire, one of seven children of Rev. John Theodore ...
assisting her with identifying specimens while she supplied specimens she had collected to add to his herbarium.
In 1857, Miles Joseph Berkeley was elected as member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.
In June, 1879 he was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
and was awarded their
Royal Medal
The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important ...
in 1863.
He died at his vicarage, Sibbertoft, near Market Harborough, on 30 July 1889.
He is honoured in the naming of ''
Berkleasmium'', which is a genus of fungi belonging to the family ''
Dematiaceae''.
Family
Berkeley was the father of the scientific illustrator
Ruth Ellen Berkeley
Ruth Ellen Berkeley (bapt. 1 October 1845 – 16 June 1914) was an English mycologist, collector of fungi specimens and scientific botanical illustrator. She is known for her specimen collections as well as her illustrations of British fungi part ...
and named ''Agaricus ruthae'' (now known as ''
Pleurotus ruthae
''Pleurotus'' is a genus of gilled mushrooms which includes one of the most widely eaten mushrooms, '' P. ostreatus''. Species of ''Pleurotus'' may be called oyster, abalone, or tree mushrooms, and are some of the most commonly cultivated edi ...
'') for her.
See also
*
List of mycologists
This is a non-exhaustive list of mycologists, or scientists with a specialisation in mycology, with their author abbreviations. Because the study of lichens is traditionally considered a branch of mycology, lichenologists are included in this li ...
Notes
References
*
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
Descriptions of Moss families, illustrated by scans adapted from Rev. M.J. Berkeley's 'Handbook of British Mosses', with updated names.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkeley, Miles Joseph
1803 births
1889 deaths
People from North Northamptonshire
People educated at Rugby School
Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge
Botanists with author abbreviations
English botanists
British phytopathologists
Phycologists
English mycologists
Bryologists
Fellows of the Linnean Society of London
Fellows of the Royal Society
Royal Medal winners
19th-century biologists
Parson-naturalists
People from Market Harborough
Members of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina