In November 2008 a story was featured in the British national press and radio concerning the risk of imminent demise of mycological expertise in the UK. It is therefore very pleasing to see the publication of the latest edition of the Dictionary of the Fungi, which aims to provide a key resource of 'accumulated knowledge on systematic mycology'. This should help to safeguard knowledge in this area and hopefully encourage future interest in fungal biology overall.

The dictionary has a broad target audience, ranging from dedicated systematic mycologists seeking bibliographic details through to students and general biologists requiring help with some of the more obscure mycological terminology. As with previous editions, the dictionary contains a complete list of all fungal genera and definitions of mycological terms. Particularly noteworthy is the incorporation of new higher-level classifications based on recent molecular phylogenetic studies, especially the international fungal tree of life (AFTOL) project. This new data, together with refinements in basal groups, placing of anamorphic genera into subphyla, and over 1,000 new entries, certainly warrants purchase for institutional libraries, and consideration by workers in the field with older editions. Meanwhile, the dictionary also includes ever useful entries concerning fungal ecology and applied mycology, and an expanded number of international biographies which is to be welcomed by the fungal community worldwide.