Martha Allen Sherwood

Martha Allen Sherwood
Born(1948-11-08)November 8, 1948
Eugene, Oregon, United States
DiedOctober 19, 2020(2020-10-19) (aged 71)
Eugene, Oregon, United States
Alma materUniversity of Oregon
Cornell University (PhD)
Known forCircumscribed the genus Xerotrema
SpouseLawrence Herbert Pike
Scientific career
FieldsMycology, Lichenology
InstitutionsFarlow Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany, Harvard University
Mycological Society of America
University of Liverpool
University of Oregon
ThesisThe ostropalean fungi (1977)

Martha Allen Sherwood (November 8, 1948 – October 19, 2020) was an American lichenologist and mycologist. She circumscribed the genus Xerotrema with Brian John Coppins and the genus Marthamyces is named after her.

Biography

Sherwood was born on November 8, 1948 in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Her parents were University of Oregon professors John Sherwood and Irma Sherwood.[1]

Sherwood studied at the University of Oregon and went on a field expedition to Guadeloupe in the French West Indies while a student. She achieved her PhD at Cornell University in 1977, working under Richard Korf.[2] Her thesis work was on ostropalean fungi, which was published in the scientific journal Mycotaxon.[3] As a post-doctoral position, Sherwood worked at the Farlow Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany at Harvard University and with local amateur lichenologists.[2]In 1979 she issued the exsiccata Phacidiales exsiccati.[4]

Sherwood was a member of the Mycological Society of America (MSA) and edited the Society's journal newsletter from January 1979 to August 1980.[2] Sherwood circumscribed the genus of Xerotrema with Brian John Coppins in 1980. The genus Marthamyces (within the Rhytismataceae family)[5] is named after her.[2][6]

Sherwood moved to England, where she worked at the University of Liverpool and contributed to the book The British Ascomycotina. An Annotated Checklist (Cannon et al. 1985).[2][7] After returning to the United States, Sherwood married biologist and organic farmer Lawrence Herbert Pike and attended the Central Lutheran Church in Eugene, Oregon.[1][2]

Sherwood worked in the Department of Biology at the University of Oregon.[8] She collaborated with palaeobotanist Jane Gray on research about fossil fungi (published under the name Sherwood-Pike),[2][9] interpreting fossilised faecal pellets containing fungal hyphae as implying the existence of a fungivorous microarthropod.[10]

Sherwood died on October 19, 2020 in Eugene, Oregon, aged 71, after suffering from a stroke.[2][1]

Select publications

  • Sherwood, M. A. (1977) The ostropalean fungi. Mycotaxon 5(1): 1–277.[3]
  • Hawksworth, D. L. & Sherwood, M. A. 1981. Proposals for Nomina Conservanda and Rejicienda for Ascomycete Names (Lichenized and Non-Lichenized). Taxon: The Journal of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy 30(1): 338–348.
  • Hawksworth, D. L. and Sherwood, M. A. (1982) Two new families in the Ascomycomycotina. - Mycotaxon 16: 262–264. [Families: Ascodichaenaceae, Odontotremataceae]
  • Sherwood, M.A. and Coppins, B. J. (1980) Xerotrema, a new genus of ondontotremoid fungus from Scotland. - Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 38: 367–371. [Xerotrema gen. nov.; X. megalospora sp. nov.][11]
  • Sherwood, M. A., Hawksworth, D. L. and Coppins, B. J. (1980) Skyttea, a new genus of odontotremoid lichenicolous fungi. - Transactions of the British Mycological Society 75: 479–490. [Skyttea gen. nov., S. buelliae sp. nov., S. cruciata sp. nov., S. elachistophora (Nyl.) Sherw. & D. Hawksw., comb. nov.; S. fusispora sp. nov.; S. gregaria sp. nov.; S. nitschkei (Körber) comb. nov. and S. thallophila (P. Karsten) Sherw. & D. Hawksw., comb. nov.]
  • Sherwood-Pike, M. (1985) New and unusual Ascomycetes from the western United States. - Sydowia II 38: 267–277. [Nanostictis pseudocyphellariae sp. nov., from Oregon.]
  • Sherwood-Pike, M. A. (1987) The Ostropalean Fungi III: the Odontotremataceae. - Mycotaxon 28: 137–177.[Ocellularia concentricum (Stirton) comb. nov.; Paschelkiella gen. nov.; Phragmiticola gen. nov.; Odontotrema oregonense sp. nov.]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Martha Sherwood Obituary (1948 - 2020) - Springfield, OR". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Rossman, Amy; Pfister, Donald. "Martha Sherwood". Mycological Society of America. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  3. ^ a b Sherwood, Mary Allen (1977). "The ostropalean fungi". Mycotaxon. 5 (1): 1–277. doi:10.5962/p.417691. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  4. ^ "Phacidiales exsiccati: IndExs ExsiccataID=270930588". IndExs - Index of Exsiccatae. Botanische Staatssammlung München. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  5. ^ "Myconet". Field Museum. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  6. ^ Brummitt, R. K.; Powell, C. E. (1992). Authors of Plant Names: A List of Authors of Scientific Names of Plants, with Recommended Standard Forms of Their Names, Including Abbreviations. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p. 588. ISBN 978-0-947643-44-7.
  7. ^ Culberson, William Louis (1986). "Review of The British Ascomycotina, an Annotated Checklist". The Bryologist. 89 (1): 86–87. doi:10.2307/3243084. ISSN 0007-2745. JSTOR 3243084. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  8. ^ Directory of Paleontologists of the World. International Paleontological Association. 1989. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-9622577-0-4.
  9. ^ Sherwood-Pike, Martha; Gray, Jane (1988). "Fossil Leaf-Inhabiting Fungi from Northern Idaho and Their Ecological Significance". Mycologia. 80 (1): 14–22. doi:10.2307/3807488. ISSN 0027-5514. JSTOR 3807488.
  10. ^ McNamara, Ken; Long, John (2013-05-24). Evolution Revolution: Design without intelligence. Melbourne University Publishing. ISBN 978-0-522-86392-5.
  11. ^ Sherwood, Martha A. (1980-12-17). "Xerotrema, A New Genus of Odontrotremoid Fungus from Scotland". Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. 38 (2): 367–371. doi:10.24823/nrbge.1980.3220. ISSN 0080-4274.