“Ridgway” Was the Only Color Guide Available And
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“Ridgway” was the only color guide available and used by mushroom collectors for a half-century … American authors adopted the tradition of placing Ridgway colors between quotation marks, so everyone knew the Ron Petersen, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN ground rules. [email protected] when faded) …” “Ridg.” Refers to Color of the mushroom to get there, and some Standards and Color Nomenclature, The first section of this paper is a of those features are expressed less by Robert Ridgway (Fig. 1), where short quiz to show the importance accurately than we might wish. In this individual color chips (Fig. 2) are of accurate citation of colors and paper, I want to dwell on the variable of given names (as well as plate, column their sources. The second section color. We could equally delve into odors and row designations which have is a series of small vignettes about and tastes, perhaps even less fastidiously never been used). “Ridgway” was the my own experience with color reported as color. only color guide available and used books and those of some others. So here we find ourselves with some by mushroom collectors for a half- The final part is an outline of color mushrooms and a short bookshelf full century. Understanding that color books throughout mycological of literature, with our life depending names dreamed up and bestowed by history, through which to see what on the conclusion of our search (not an author might be less precise than has been used and why the art is usually, but now and then). We are colors matched and selected from a not as exact as might be desired. confronted with the following: “cap the color guide, American authors adopted I suspect that, just as many of us golden yellow of a tulip popular forest the tradition of placing Ridgway colors collect mushrooms like charms on in the declining horizontal light of late between quotation marks, so everyone a bracelet or a life-list for birders, fall.” What if you are an Oregonian knew the ground rules. Source: Coker, there might be some folks who and never saw a tulip poplar, much W.C., and A.H. Beers. 1943. The Boleti collect color manuals and the less in October on a clear day. Maybe of North Carolina. University of North outline which finishes the paper something as simple as “yellow.” Lemon? Carolina Press, Chapel Hill; (p. 84 under might be of interest. Canary? Egg yolk (chicken or duck)? B. punctipes). Banana? None of these brings the 2. “Pileus ... warm buff to honey exact same color to the mental eyes of brown when moist (5E4 to 5D4), more than one person. In short, some drying somewhat lighter, especially at ne of the tenets of science is the codification, some shorthand, some the margin (5C4 to 5B3) …” This more reproducibility of data. If the system is needed to express colors so popular and familiar code refers to same experiment is performed that all field mycologists can enter the Kornerup & Wanscher (a.k.a. Methuen in the same way, with the same O search for names on a level playing Handbook of Colour). The English materials, the result should be the same. field. For a somewhat different slant on translations of this manual (Fig. 3) have Inherent in this is that experimental this, including some deep history, see: been popular for many years but are conditions should be exactly the same— Nicholson, R. 2013. Natural History currently out of print (although available the result might differ if one worker uses 121(5): 18-27. through various online marketplaces). mice while another uses ferrets. It’s a Here’s the quiz. How would you Pains have been taken by the publishers good thing to agree on the terms of the interpret each of the following actual to have the colors printed by the same experiment, lest we wander from the citations: company using the same inks so that straight and narrow. 1. “Tubes short … a peculiar muddy all editions, in whatever language, For field mycologists (that’s most of yellow-brown (about ‘Isabella color’ are consistent. Source: Lennox, J.W. us, just in case you didn’t recognize to ‘Saccardo’s umber,’ Ridg.)” “Pileus 1979. Collybioid genera in the Pacific yourself), our goal is to arrive at the … bright yellow fading to pale yellow Northwest. Mycotaxon 9: 165; (under same name for a mushroom, but we (‘cadmium yellow,’ ‘deep chrome,’ Baeospora myosura). must be careful to use the same features or ‘yellow ocher’ when moist, paler 3. Here’s another try. “Pileus …when 12 FUNGI Volume 8:5 Mid-Winter 2016 Figure 1. Soft cover of Ridgway’s 1912 Color Standards and Color Nomenclature. In some copies, this cover has been deleted in favor of a buckram (“hard”) cover. Note the color wheel in which the colors are not primary (red, blue, yellow). moist dark yellowish brown (Mu. 10 YR 5/6), slightly paler towards margin (10 YR 6/6) and slightly darker at centre [there’s a tip-off] (10 YR 4/4 to 4/6) …” The authors have given two clues: First, the “Mu” refers to Munsell (Fig. 4) (but not which of the scores of Munsell sources); and second, they’re not from the United States. Source: But later, I came to know that Alex [Alexander H. Smith] thought he knew Ridgway’s color manual so well that he had “memorized” all the common colors and so didn’t have to open up Figure 2. One plate from Ridgway, 1912. Note colors are mounted on gray background and extend from white to black. Orange would come close to “orange cinnamon.” the book each time for Antonin, V., and M.E. Noordeloos. IHW Verlag, Germany; (p. 257 under reference. 2010. A Monograph of Marasmioid Gymnopus bisporiger). and Collybioid Fungi in Europe. 4. “Pileus orange, orange-cinnamon, FUNGI Volume 8:5 Mid-Winter 2016 13 Figure 3. Two pages from Kornerup & Wanscher, 1967, English edition. Colors are cited as chart number followed by horizontal axis followed by vertical axis. Orange would be cited as 5A8. salmon orange, deep brownish a system of filters which in combination a trick question. Regrettably, nothing orange, ochraceous yellow, when fresh created a myriad of colors and hues. here from any color guide. You’re on (“Morocco,” “apricot,” Ponce de Leon, The filter combination could be cited your own. Source: Hesler, L.R., and A.H. 10-D-9, 10-H-7) …” The former cannot as letters (signifying a subset of filters) Smith. 1979. North American Species of be Ridgway colors: they do not exist followed by numerals (specific filters), Lactarius. University of Michigan Press, in Ridgway (more on Ridgway below). often followed by the position of the Ann Arbor; (p. 92 under L. deliciosus The latter cannot be Methuen citations, filters in sequence. Thus “R 40 G 10 Y var. areolatus). for neither exists in Methuen. They 05” produced a color, which happened In the late 1960s I found myself are, in fact, as stated by Singer, from to correspond to Ridgway’s “cinnamon.” in northern-most Idaho as part of Maerz and Paul (1930. A Dictionary of Moreover, Romagnesi (pp. 149-157) Alexander Smith’s travelling mushroom Color). Source: Singer, R.1976. Flora furnished tables as concordances of entourage. Alex was fond of early Neotropica, Monograph 17; (p. 199 Ridgway colors to Chromotaxia filter morning fly fishing and like as not, under Marasmius pusio). notations. Unfortunately for students of would show up for breakfast having 5. Here’s a tough one. “Chapeau … Russula, Chromotaxia never established already bagged a couple of trout. One typiquement pourpre noir K 580, S 41 traction in the US and disappeared morning he reported that during the et 56, Presque noir en centre, rarement as quickly as it had appeared. Source: previous evening, he “wrote up seventy- avec des places jaunes K 166 comme Romagnesi, H. 1967. Les Russules four numbers.” That is, he had processed che Turci … jaune ochracé avec une d’Europe et d’Afrique du Nord. Bordas, (wrote notes, took photos, placed on the pointe de verdâtre K 171 + 178 D, ou Paris; (p. 452 under R. torulosa). drier) 74 collections made the previous finalement jaune vert, K 177 dilué ou 6. Finally, how about “Pileus … color day. Now, I had trouble working up verdâtre, K 153 D …” Romagnesi refers variable (pale carrot color to dull carrot- more than ten (at that time, colorful to a color scheme by Marcel Locquin, red or dull vinaceous-red to vinaceous Ramaria collections). But later, I came hardly known outside France, and even brown) often sordid in age as the olive to know that Alex thought he knew then only ephemerally. Chromotaxia was staining becomes apparent.” Sorry, it’s Ridgway’s color manual so well that he 14 FUNGI Volume 8:5 Mid-Winter 2016 had “memorized” all the common colors and so didn’t have to open up the book each time for reference. Just one of the ways he entered notes on his famous 6 × 8” index cards. The estimable Dan Stuntz in the Pacific Northwest had his own methodology. Sifting through his specimen notes, one often is confronted by something like “l.o.b.” (Sounds a bit like something a teenager would text on a smart phone.) After some experience, this transcribes to “light ochraceous buff” of Ridgway. During a lifetime of mushroom research, Dan probably saved a couple weeks’ time by not writing color names in full. In the mid-1980s, on one of my first trips to China, I brought along (as usual) my well-worn copy of Ridgway.