Sanford Myron Zeller (19 October 1885 – 4 November 1948) was an American

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 ...

. Born in

Coldwater, Michigan Coldwater is a city in Branch County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,945. It is the county seat of Branch County, located in the center of the southern border of Michigan. The city is surrounded by Co ...

, Zeller was educated at

Lawrence College Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the U.S. to be founded as a coeducation ...

in Wisconsin, then

Greenville College Greenville University is a private university in Greenville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. Established as Greenville College in 1892, the institution was renamed Greenville University in 2017. History In 1855, Stephe ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, from which he received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in 1909. He earned his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

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 1917 at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

, and two years later started a 29-year stint as a plant pathologist and professor at the

Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station (OAES) is affiliated with Oregon State University and coordinates research at experiment stations in Oregon. It receives state funding and funding from contracts for its work. It has 11 branch stations. It wa ...

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city and the county seat of Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2020 United ...

. He published over 150 scientific papers during his career. Zeller specialized in the

gasteroid fungi The gasteroid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota. Species were formerly placed in the obsolete class Gasteromycetes Fr. (literally "stomach fungi"), or the equally obsolete order Gasteromycetales Rea, because they produce spores insi ...

. Independently, he described 3

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, 9

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

, 7

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

, 81 species, and published 29 new names and combinations, as well as 3 genera, 62 species, and 59 combinations in collaborations with other scientists. Zeller was the associate editor of the scientific journal ''

Phytopathology 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 fungi, oomyc ...

'' from 1924 to 1930.

Eponymous taxa

*'' Aleurodiscus zelleri'' Burt 1926 *'' Armillaria zelleri'' D.E. Stuntz & A.H.Sm. 1949 *'' Boletellus zelleri'' (Murrill) Singer, Snell & E.A.Dick 1960 *'' Boletus zelleri'' (Murrill) Murrill 1912 *'' Ceriomyces zelleri'' Murrill 1912 *'' Craterellus zelleri'' Burt 1926 *'' Elasmomyces zellerianus'' Singer & A.H.Sm. 1960 *'' Exidia zelleri'' Lloyd 1920 *'' Godronia zelleri'' Seaver 1945 *'' Macowanites zellerianus'' (Singer & A.H.Sm.) Trappe, T.Lebel & Castellano 2002 *'' Polyporus zelleri'' Murrill 1915 *'' Rhizopogon zelleri'' A.H.Sm. 1966 *'' Russula zelleri'' Burl. 1936 *'' Tricholoma zelleri'' (D.E.Stuntz & A.H.Sm.) Ovrebo & Tylutki 1975 *'' Xerocomus zelleri'' (Murrill) Snell 1944 *''

Zelleromyces ''Zelleromyces'' is a genus of fungi in the family Russulaceae. It was first described by mycologists Rolf Singer and Alexander H. Smith in 1960 to contain hypogeous (underground) fungi with gasteroid fruit bodies that "bleed" latex when they ar ...

'' Singer & A.H.Sm. 1960

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeller, Sanford Myron 1885 births 1948 deaths American mycologists Washington University in St. Louis alumni