Biodiversity in the North West: The Mildews of Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria

Description:

The historical counties of Cheshire, Lancashire, Westmorland and Cumberland have a rich diversity of geology, landscape, vegetation and wildlife. This is an account of a group of fascinating fungi, the downy and powdery mildews. They belong to quite different groups of fungi, in the broadest sense, and are important parasites on flowering plants.

After a short introduction to the biology and ecology of mildews, the physical and ecological environment of old Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria is described. The main part of the book is a detailed catalogue of all the species ever recorded in the region. The records date back to the nineteenth century but are mostly concentrated in the last sixty years, up to the present. Of particular interest is the evolutionary relationship between the fungi and their hosts – an excellent example of co-evolution in action.