Fries, Elias Magnus
Fries, Elias Magnus
(ĕlē`äs mäng`nəs frēs), 1794–1878, Swedish botanist. He taught (1834–59) at the Univ. of Uppsala. Fries originated the modern classification of fungi and lichens. His works include Systema mycologicum (3 vol., 1821–32) and Icones selectae Hymenomycetum (2 vol., 1867–84).Fries, Elias Magnus
Born Aug. 15, 1794, in Femsjö; died Feb. 8, 1878, in Uppsala. Swedish botanist; member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences (1847).
Fries was a professor at the universities of Lund (from 1824) and Uppsala (1834–59). He was one of the founders of the taxonomy of fungi and lichens. His Systema mycologicum was the basis of a nomenclature for most groups of fungi, just as C. Linnaeus’ Species plantarum was for vascular plants. Fries was a foreign corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1850).