Book review

The 4th volume in this series, which was initiated by German J. Krieglsteiner, is completed and prepared for print after Krieglsteiner’s death by Andreas Gminder. The present volume treats several families of Agarics, viz. Amanitaceae, Lepiotaceae, Entolomataceae, Pluteaceae, Bolbitiaceae, Strophariaceae and Crepidotaceae. Within the families, genera are treated in alphabetical order. Keys are presented to all species occurring in Baden-Württemberg, followed by short descriptions or notes to the species, including details on ecology, threat and distribution in the state Baden-Württemberg. Many species are also presented in the form of colour photographs, which are generally of good to excellent quality, and distribution maps are often given. The taxonomy used in this book generally follows the traditional concepts in modern literature, with a few exceptions. Krieglsteiner had a rather rigid opinion about species concept, which leads also in this volume to the lumping of closely related or morphologically similar, but not necessarily related species, treating them as varieties of each other. Examples in this volume are Macrolepiota procera var. konradii, and Entoloma hirtum var. dysthaloides. Whether these changes are justified will have to be proved in future. Apart from this tiny bit of criticism, the book can be highly recommended, and will serve as a valuable source of information, not only for those who want to name a fungus from Baden-Wiirttemberg.