Fungi and Lichen

The MNHNL’s collection of dried fungal and lichen specimens forms part of the LUX Herbarium. The mycological herbarium is organised by collector and by species. As the MNHNL currently has no mycologist on staff, the museum relies on external specialist collaborators to validate and prepare the mycological collections. This work includes both genetic studies of specimens and the preparation and encoding of material.

The mycological herbarium assembled at the end of the 19th century by Dr Jean Feltgen is of particular importance, as it contains the numerous type specimens of the species he described in the five volumes of his «Vorstudien zu einer Pilz Flora des Grossherzogthums Luxemburg. ». The herbarium also includes more recent collections from mycologists and scientific collaborators active at the Naturmusée.

We are honoured to be progressively integrating into the Naturmusée’s collections the Guy Marson collection, described in Monograph of Orbiliomycetes (Ascomycota) Based on Vital Taxonomy. Part I + II by H.O. Baral, E. Weber, and G. Marson. Each specimen is catalogued, and its metadata are carefully recorded in the institutional database.  Through genetic barcoding of Orbiliomycetes, it is now possible to distinguish cryptic species that cannot be identified through morphological observation alone. Once collected, all of these data are then recorded in the international GenBank database. Genetic barcoding of Orbiliomycetes makes it possible to distinguish cryptic species that cannot be identified morphologically. The data obtained are referenced in the international GenBank database.