Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist.

Career

Fries was born at Femsjö ( Hylte Municipality), Småland, the son of the pastor there. He attended school in Växjö. He acquired an extensive knowledge of flowering plants from his father. In 1811 Fries entered

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion 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 ...

. He was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and in 1824, became a full

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

. In 1834 he became Borgström professor (Swed. ''Borgströmianska professuren'', a chair endowed by Erik Eriksson Borgström, 1708–1770) in applied economics at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

. The position was changed to "professor of botany and applied economics" in 1851. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 1849. That year he was also appointed director of the

Uppsala University Botanical Garden The University of Uppsala Botanical Garden (in Swedish ''Botaniska trädgården''), near Uppsala Castle, is the principal botanical garden belonging to Uppsala University. It was created on land donated to the university in 1787 by Sweden's Kin ...

. In 1853, he became rector of the University. Fries most important works were the three-volume ''

Systema mycologicum Systema Mycologicum is a systematic classification 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 mushr ...

'' (1821–1832), ''Elenchus fungorum'' (1828), the two-volume ''Monographia hymenomycetum Sueciae'' (1857 and 1863) and ''Hymenomycetes Europaei'' (1874). Fries is considered to be, after Christian Hendrik Persoon, a founding father of the modern taxonomy of

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

s. His taxonomy of mushrooms was influenced by

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

and the German romantics. He utilized

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...

color and arrangement of the

hymenophore A hymenophore refers to the hymenium-bearing structure of a fungal fruiting body. Hymenophores can be smooth surfaces, lamellae Lamella (plural lamellae) means a small plate or flake in Latin, and in English may refer to: Biology * Lamella (myc ...

(pores, gills, teeth etc.) as major taxonomic characteristics. He died in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the ca ...

on 8 February 1878. When he died, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' commented: "His very numerous works, especially on fungi and

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Linnaeus". Fries was succeeded in the Borgström professorship (from 1859 to 1876) by Johan Erhard Areschoug, after whom

Theodor Magnus Fries Theodor "Thore" Magnus Fries (28 October 1832 – 29 March 1913), was a Swedish botanist, lichenologist, and Arctic explorer. He was the son of the mycologist Elias Fries. Following in his father's footsteps, Fries studied botany, obtaining hi ...

, the son of Elias, held the chair (from 1877 to 1899).Fries, Teodor (Thore) Magnus
in Herman Hofberg, Frithiof Heurlin, Viktor Millqvist, Olof Rubenson, 1906, ''Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon'', Albert Bonniers Förlag, Stockholm, pp 361-362. (In Swedish)

Publications

*''Monographia Pyrenomycetum Sueciae'' (1816) *''Systema Mycologicum'' (1821) *''Systema Orbis Vegetabilis'' (1825) *''Elenchus Fungorem'' (1828) *''Lichenographia Europaea Reformata'' (1831) *''Epicrisis Systematis Mycologici: seu synopsis hymenomycetum'' (1838)

Botanical Reference

Family

His son was

. His grandsons

Thore Christian Elias Fries Thore Christian Elias Fries (3 November 1886 – 31 December 1930 son of Theodor Magnus Fries and brother of Robert Elias Fries) was Professor of Systematic Botany at Lund University. He specialized in lichenology and plant geography. This bota ...

and

Robert Elias Fries (Klas) Robert Elias Fries (11 July 1876, Uppsala – 29 January 1966, Stockholm), the youngest son of Theodor Magnus Fries (1832–1913) and grandson of Elias Magnus Fries(1794–1878) and an expert on mushrooms. A Swedish botanist who was a mem ...

also became botanists.

References

External links

*
"Elias Magnus Fries"
Authors of fungal names, ''Mushroom, the Journal of Wild Mushrooming''.
Web site of the Descendants of Elias Fries Association
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fries, Elias Magnus 1794 births 1878 deaths People from Hylte Municipality Botanists with author abbreviations Swedish botanists Swedish phycologists Bryologists Pteridologists Swedish mycologists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Foreign Members of the Royal Society Members of the Swedish Academy Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences People from Småland Lund University alumni Lund University faculty Uppsala University faculty Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Burials at Uppsala old cemetery