David Pegler

David Norman Pegler (born 2 November 1938) is a British mycologist who spent his entire professional career at Kew Gardens, where he became Head of Mycology and assistant keeper of the herbarium. A leading authority on tropical agarics, he described 11 new genera and over 180 species of fungi during expeditions to regions including East Africa, the Caribbean, and South America. He authored more than 200 scholarly articles and 35 books on fungal systematics whilst also producing popular field guides, and received the Distinguished Mycologist Award from the Mycological Society of America upon his retirement in 1998. His contributions to mycology have been honoured with several species named after him and with two fungal genera, Pegleromyces and Peglerochaete.

Early life and education

Pegler developed an interest in natural history during his childhood, joining natural history societies and bird-watching groups. This led to his fascination with fungi, which eventually shaped his academic career. then genera Peglerochaete from India, (also in the family Tricholomataceae) by Sarwal & Locq. in 1983, and also several other fungal taxa have been named in his honour: Cuphophyllus pegleri Lodge 1999