7:30pm, Thursday March 26th
On Zoom (Link Below)

Rust fungi (Pucciniales) are highly specialized plant pathogens known for their remarkable life cycles and profound effects on agriculture, forestry, and natural ecosystems. The rusts have particularly complicated lifestyles involving a sequence of up to five distinct spore types that often require a jump between two unrelated host plants.

This lecture explores the diversity and beauty of rust fungi in the Northeast, along with practical guidance for finding and identifying them. It will also cover their broader significance: their historical impacts on agriculture and forestry, the foundational work of early mycologists who documented and classified them, and their roles as biological control agents and even as weapons of war.

Andrew Cannon is an artist and amateur mycologist based in New York City. A member of the New York Mycological Society since 2015, he serves as the Society’s archivist. Since 2023, he has focused on researching the history and diversity of plant pathogenic fungi in North America, particularly rusts, smuts, and mildews.