Edwin Butterworth Mains
| Edwin Butterworth Mains | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
31 March 1890 Coldwater, Michigan |
| Died | 23 December 1968 (aged 78) Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Mycology |
| Institutions |
Purdue University (1916–1930), University of Michigan (1930–1960) |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Known for | Taxonomy of rust fungi, taxonomy of Cordyceps, taxonomy of Geoglossaceae |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Mains |
Edwin Butterworth Mains (1890–1968) was an American mycologist. He was known for his taxonomic research on the rust fungi (Pucciniomycetes), the genus Cordyceps, and the earth tongues (Geoglossaceae).
Edwin Butterworth Mains was born on 31 March 1890 in Coldwater, Branch County, Michigan. The son of Benjamin W. and Mary Ann (Butterworth) Mains. Mains began his undergraduate education at Michigan State University in 1909, but transferred to the University of Michigan in 1911. He earned his Ph.D. in botany from the University of Michigan in 1916 under the tutelage of Calvin Henry Kauffman while investigating the parasite-host relationships of various rust fungi. He was appointed Assistant Botanist at the Purdue University Agricultural Experimental Station by Joseph Charles Arthur in 1916. He married Mary Esther Elder on 16 August 1917 in East Lansing, Michigan. Mains was appointed Acting Director of the University of Michigan Herbarium following the illness of C.H. Kauffman in 1930 and was named Director in 1931. Mains remained at the University of Michigan, both as a professor and as Director of the Herbarium, until his retirement in 1960. Mains served as Chair of the Department of Botany at Michigan during World War II. Mains remained in Ann Arbor following his retirement and died of a heart attack on 23 December 1968. He was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Coldwater, Michigan.
While at Michigan, Mains was active in the Ann Arbor Garden Club. Mains was highly interested in photography and was a noted and exhibited photographer of nature. Mains was prominent in the development and use of color photography in mycological education.
Mains' early professional career was dedicated to the study of plant rusts (Pucciniales). He collaborated with Arthur and others on "The Plant Rusts (Uredinales)" in 1929, a major treatment of an economically important group of fungi. Mains continued working on rusts after transferring to Michigan, though most of his later studies focused on Cordyceps and the Geoglossaceae. Mains' collections and research greatly enriched the University of Michigan Herbarium, which developed "from a position of obscurity to one of international prominence" under his directorship.
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