Mnemonic Myco Monday

 

So you want to learn mushrooms, either to identify edible ones or to contribute to mycology, the study of mushrooms? Fantastic! Mycology with only 5 % of the fungal species identified is in need of help from citizen scientists. Great. You buy your first guide and go on your first foray. You already know Amanita muscaria, the species (binomial nomenclature based on the genus and specific epithet) name of the fly agaric so you are ready for more. The books and the people around you are using scientific or species names based on Latin and Greek roots. Okay, now you are confused. The names are longer and harder to pronounce. Even worse, some species names that you previously learned have changed thanks to DNA research.

As a former biology teacher I understood that just memorizing terms and species names were not the best way to learn the word and concept. Picture this: you're sitting in a biology class, staring at a list of mind-boggling scientific names and terms that sound like they were created by a cat walking across a keyboard. Fear not, for mnemonics are here to save the day! Mnemonics help us tap into our creative side and inject humor into the otherwise serious world of scientific terms. They transform abstract concepts into hilarious mental pictures that stick in our minds like gum on a shoe. Plus, they make learning fun and enjoyable, which is always a bonus!

Mnemonic Myco Monday will help me and others learn the scientific names of mushrooms. This post will be only for learning and pronouncing the names, and not the specific details related to the mushroom. I will assume you have a guidebook or website such as iNaturalist to look up the details of that particular mushroom. If not, you can scroll down to helpful links for more details. Each week I will randomly pick a mushroom or two. I will break down the Latin or Greek roots of the species name. Sometimes just knowing the meaning can help in learning the species. The next step will be to come up with a creative way to learn the binomial name. You may decide to learn just the genus, which works as well since in the field you may only get to the genus name.

The best part is you might think of a better mnemonic, so go for it. 

This week I will start with, The Lobster Mushroom, Hypomyces lactifluorum (a parasitic Ascomycete)

 Photo of Lobster Mushroom by Jen Hall

Let's break down the scientific name Hypomyces lactifluorum to understand its root meanings:

Hypomyces:

"Hypo" is a Greek prefix meaning "below" or "under."

"Mycos" is a Greek word meaning "fungus" or "mushroom."

Lactifluorum:

"Lacti" is derived from the Latin word "lactis," meaning "milk."

"Fluorum" is derived from the Latin word "fluere," meaning "to flow" or "to produce."

You might be clever enough to create a mnemonic from the root meanings or be silly like me and create a funny scene. My mnemonic is Hypo mices lick (or lack if you prefer lack) the(ti) floor rum. Picture this silly scene of mice or you can use myco as in mushroom.  Obviously someone who feasts on lobsters will accompany it with rum.

Now look at the photo and say Hypomyces lactifluorum 3 times.

Learn more:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypomyces_lactifluorum  https://www.mushroomexpert.com/hypomyces_lactifluorum.html