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NEYEDC improve and inform environmental decision making, conservation, land management and sustainable development in North and East Yorkshire through the collation, management, analysis and dissemination of biodiversity information.

The Natural History of Yorkshire in 100 Species

Explore the rich and diverse natural history of our region through the stories of 100 species, told by the people who know them best.

#19 Puccinia bistortae by Nathan Smith

Meet Nathan Smith, mycologist, historian, and curator!

Nathan is a mycologist, historian, and curator focused on the how and why of studying fungi. He is the Recording Network Co-ordinator for the British Mycological Society and the Fungarium Operations Manager at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Once upon a time he was also an Assistant Curator at Tolson Memorial Museum, Huddersfield. He can be contacted by email at cwe.smith@gmail.com and can be found on twitter under the handle @NathanProbably.

Puccinia bistortae on Bistort © Björn S

Nathan’s chosen species is the rather unassuming Puccinia bistortae (F. Strauss). A rust fungus, it appears to a person on the street as a series of brown dots on the leaves of its host plants. Indeed, it is quite possible that you have walked past it and not even noticed it! However, it is a fungus with a rather remarkable history and one that enriches our understanding of the history of natural history in Yorkshire and beyond.

Rust fungi are rather complicated organisms. They can have up to five different and distinct spore types (with spores a key factor for identification for many species). To make matters worse, a number of species are heteroecious. This means that they require two host species to complete their lifecycle with different spore types (and thus different presentations) occurring on each plant. Puccinia bistortae is one such fungus, occurring on Common Bistort (Bistorta officinalis Delarbre) and the Earthnut (Conopodium majus (Gouan) Loret.). Indeed, Puccinia bistortae was the first rust fungus discovered to be heteroecious with a spore-form occurring on a dicotyledon (a non-grass plant). Whilst this is somewhat of a qualified discovery, it should be noted how difficult it is to identify the life cycles of heteroecious fungi. It is considerably more difficult without the benefits of modern genetics.

And such was the case of Puccinia bistortae, whose lifecycle was determined in the closing years of the nineteenth century by a Bradford-born greengrocer called Henry Thomas Soppitt (1858-1899). Soppitt’s discover soon became the talk of the fungal world and put him in correspondence with a number of academics across Europe. Despite his premature death, he was lauded as one of the most consequential mycologists in Yorkshire and comparisons were frequently made with other artisan and working-class botanists such as James Bolton (c. 1735–1799) and John Nowell (1802–1867).

Of course, no scientific discovery is made alone and the same is the case for Soppitt’s discovery of the lifecycle of Puccinia bistortae. He was helped to various degrees by Charles Crossland (1844–1916; a butcher), James Needham (1849–1913; an ironmonger), Harold Pickles (1861–1906; a brushmaker). Lacking formal scientific training and the benefits of social class, they nevertheless achieved a prominent and important scientific first.

Portrait of Henry Thomas Soppitt (1858-1899) © Tolson Memorial Museum.

But the story goes further! Both Crossland and Needham recorded separate accounts of the discovery. In Needham’s (pictured), he details how he visited and recorded the change in population of the fungus and its host plant. Such a study, whilst unpublished, represents one of the first ecological studies ever conducted!

Today, changes in fungal distribution and occurrence are important datasets in understanding the past, present, and future impact of climate change.  Rust fungi in particular are important to understand given the substantial impact they can have on crop yields. As such, Puccinia bistortae remains an interesting fungus to study and its history shows that anyone can make a scientific discovery. It is often the most unassuming species that have the most to say.

Monitoring

Letter detailing Needham’s study. © Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Should you wish to continue the work of James Needham in monitoring Puccinia bistortae and are fortunate enough to find it on your travels, report it to your Local Fungus Group (a list of which can be found at https://www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/field_mycology/recording-network/groups) and record it on the Fungal Records Database of Britain and Ireland. The Facebook group for the British Mycological Society (BMS) is a great place to get help with identification for a beginner.

Further information and acknowledgements

For more on the history of the discovery of Puccinia bistortae see the article ‘Provincial mycology and the legacy of Henry Thomas Soppitt (1858–1899)’ published in Archives of Natural History: https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/anh.2020.0650.

For more on James Needham see the article ‘Where are they now? The records and collections of James Needham (1849-1913), amateur mycologist and bryologist of Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire. Locating his legacy and resources for further study’ published in the Journal of Natural Science Collections: https://www.natsca.org/sites/default/files/publications/JoNSC-Vol4-Baker2016.pdf  

NEYEDC would like to thank Nathan for his time and expertise in helping to create this blog.

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