This book describes 180 species of rust fungi of the family Melampso-raceae. Among them is a considerable number of species which cause harm in agriculture and forestry. The book can serve as a reference
(source for the identification of rust fungi and for measures to combat them. Investigations on rust fungi were begun in 1938 by V. G. Tranzschel,1 while his well-known "Obzor rzhavchinnykh gribov SSSR" (Conspectus Uredinalium URSS) was still being printed. The publication of this work facilitated preparation of the present book. According to the plan proposed by V. G. Tranzschel, description of the rust fungi included a sufficiently detailed description of species, references to pertinent literature, synonyms data on biological properties, and a list of host plants with indication of their distribution according to regions corresponding to those listed in "Flora of the USSR," published by the Institute of Botany of AN SSSR [the Academy of Sciences of the USSR], or a catalog listing major locations. Unlike "Flora of the USSR," description of the species included a complete list of synonyms.
The synonyms reflect the history of the investigated fungus, its morphology, the frequency of finds, and its relation to other species; often they reflect the opinion of the investigator. This can be illustrated by the list of synonyms to Puccinia graminis Pers., Coleosporium campanulae (Pers.) Lev., Milesia scolopendrii (Fuck.) Arth., or indeed to any rust fungus which has many synonyms. For example, the existence of such synonyms for Milesia scolopendrii as Ascospora scolopendrii Fuck. (1873) and Gloeosporium nicolai Aggeri (l935) clearly indicates the outward appearance of the damage, which is uncharacteristic for the Uredinales, as well as the investigator's methods of work.
The taxonomic part of this book is prefaced by a short historical outline of the investigations of rust fungi, by a general part, and by a bibliography on the rust fungi of the USSR. The bibliography includes mainly works of Russian authors and only a few by foreign authors, who describe fungi found in the USSR, and a short list of floras and bibliograph ical works on rust fungi in countries adjoining the USSR. These references may be useful in the preparation of monographs on individual species or biological groups of rust fungi.
In writing this book we relied on the herbarium of the Institute of Botany of AN SSSR, kept in the Cryptogamic Plant Section of the Institute, and on the herbarium of the All-Union Institute of Plant Protection in Leningrad.
We define a species by its inherent morphological features and therefore can classify it from material available in the herbarium without special study of the infectious properties of the fungus. In a few cases biological species were included, viz., the several species of Melampsora on
Salicaceae and two to three species of Coleosporium with a well investigated developmental cycle and defined species composition of host plants. The system for the rust fungi in the book was adopted from Dietel (see: Die natiirlichen Pflanzenfamilien . . ., vol. 6, 1928, pp. 24—98). According to Dietel, the genera Pucciniostele, Cerotelium, Baeodromus, Ochropsora, and Aplospora belong to Pucciniaceae, but I included them in the family Melampsoraceae when completing work on that family in the years following
»the war. After V. G. Tranzschel's death on 21 January 1942 in Leningrad during the siege, for several years virtually no work was carried out on rust fungi. During those years collection of herbarium material was continued in Central Asia, mainly in the Tadzhik, Uzbek, and Turkmen republics. In 1947, when the herbarium of the Cryptogamic Plant Section was made usable, I continued work on the book myself. The loss of the greatest expert on the rust fungi, V. G. Tranzschel, considerably delayed the preparation and classification of the material.
The outline of the morphology and taxonomy of Uredinales for the present edition was adopted from the "Conspectus" (with small changes and additions). The genera Milesia, Hyalopsora, Melampsorella, and Pucciniastrum were prepared by V. G. Tranzschel; the genera Uredinopsis, Thekopsora, Calyptospora, Melampsoridium, Phakopsora, Cronartium, Coleosporium, and Chrysomyxa were prepared by V. G. Tranzschel and myself; I prepared the genera Ochropsora, Melampsora, Pucciniostele, Cerotelium, Baeodromas, Chnoopsora, and Aplospora. The list of hosts and the geographical distribution of species of genera Milesia, Uredinopsis, Cronartium, and Coleosporium were prepared by M. A. Litvinov; I added the historical outline of rust fungi investigations in the USSR, the bibliography, comments on individual works, and also all the data on the biology of rust fungi appearing in the present edition of the book. The original illustrations were made by E. Ya. Zenkova and partly by the artist N. N. Korobov. The index was prepared by E. Ya. Zenkova.
Omissions and errors will probably be found. Indication of these and suggestions for improvements will be appreciated. They should be sent to the following address: Cryptogamic Plant Section of the Institute of Botany of AN SSSR (Leningrad, 2 Prof. Popov Street).
Below is a list of the main monographs used by V. G. Tranzschel and myself in the description of species of the family Melampsoraceae for the present edition.