Julius Schäffer

Julius Schäffer (3 June 1882 – 21 October 1944) was a German mycologist. His contributions include studies on the Agaricales (gilled mushrooms), especially the genus Russula, about which he wrote a monograph in 1933 Later, he revised the genus in the series Die Pilze Mitteleuropas (1926–1967); his notes were published posthumously by his wife Liesel in 1952 with the help of other mycologists. The work was considered the "authoritative treatment of the group for Central Europe". Schäffer developed a chemical test to help with the identification of Agaricus species. A positive reaction of Schaeffer's test, which uses the reaction of aniline and nitric acid on the surface of the mushroom, is indicated by an orange-to-red color; it is characteristic of species in the section Flavescentes. The compounds responsible for the reaction were named schaefferal A and B to honor Schäffer.