Václav Melzer (26 August 1878 – 1 May 1968) was a Czech teacher and

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

, who was part of a group of Czech teachers who became mycologists at the beginning of the 20th century that also included figures such as Jindřich Kučera, Rudolf Veselý, and František Tyttl. A substantial part of his life was spent living and working in

Domažlice Domažlice (; ) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monument reser ...

. Melzer's scientific work was devoted mainly to ''

Russula ''Russula'' is a very large genus composed of around 750 worldwide species of fungi. The genus was described by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1796. The mushrooms are fairly large, and brightly colored – making them one of the most recognizable ...

'', in which he published the first Czech

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

of this

basidiomycete Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basid ...

genus. His discoveries in this genus included the ''

Russula sardonia ''Russula sardonia'', commonly known as the primrose brittlegill, is a mushroom of the genus ''Russula'', which are commonly known as brittlegills. The fruiting body, or mushroom, is a reddish-purple, the colour of blackberry juice, and is found ...

'' variety ''mellini'', described in 1927, and '' Russula helodes'' in 1929, based on collections from the

Soběslav Soběslav (; ) is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,100 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, ur ...

area. The mycologist

Josef Velenovský Josef Velenovský (22 April 1858 – 7 May 1949) was a Czech botanist, mycologist, pteridologist, and bryologist. He also worked with fossils. He was a research investigator and professor in the Botanical Institute of the University of Prague, ...

named the bolete species '' Boletus melzeri'' in his honor in 1922, which was initially collected by Melzer in 1920 at

Čechtice Čechtice is a market town in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,400 inhabitants. Administrative division Čechtice consists of 14 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 ce ...

. Other taxa named after Melzer include the species '' Lentinus melzeri'', '' Russula melzeri'', and ''Russula lilacea'' var. ''melzeriana'' (now '' Russula melzeriana''); the genera '' Melzericium'' and '' Melzerodontia'' are also named in his honor. He is well known in mycology for developing the staining solution

Melzer's reagent Melzer's reagent (also known as Melzer's iodine reagent, Melzer's solution or informally as Melzer's) is a chemical reagent used by mycologists to assist with the identification of fungi, and by phytopathologists for fungi that are plant pathogens ...

, which he developed in 1924 as a modification of an older

chloral hydrate Chloral hydrate is a geminal diol with the formula . It was first used as a sedative and hypnotic in Germany in the 1870s. Over time it was replaced by safer and more effective alternatives but it remained in use in the United States until at ...

-containing iodine solution developed by the botanist Arthur Meyer. In ''Russula'', the genus in which Melzer specialized, the

amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a fibrillar morphology of typically 7–13 nm in diameter, a β-sheet secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be stained by particular dyes, such as Congo red. In the human ...

reaction of the

basidiospore A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromos ...

ornamentation or entire spore is of great

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

significance.The Russulales News Team. 2007. Introduction to the Russulales
Characteristics of the russuloid fungi
, '' Russulales News '' (website)

References

*''This article was initially translated from the Czech Wikipedia.'' Czech mycologists Czech educators People from Domažlice 1878 births 1968 deaths Scientists from Austria-Hungary {{CzechRepublic-scientist-stub