Carlo Luigi Spegazzini

{{Short description|Argentine mycologist (1858–1926)}}

{{For|the Argentine city named for Spegazzini|Carlos Spegazzini, Buenos Aires}}

{{redirect|Speg.|the gene|SPEG}}

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Carlos Luis Spegazzini

| image = Spegazzinisepia.gif

| image_size = 200px

| caption = Spegazzini on his 65th birthday

| birth_date = {{birth date|1858|4|20|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Bairo, Italy

| death_date = {{death date and age|1926|07|01|1858|4|20}}

| death_place = La Plata, Argentina

| residence =

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| doctoral_advisor = Pier Andrea Saccardo

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| known_for =Studies in mycology and vascular plants

| author_abbrev_bot = Speg.

| author_abbrev_zoo =

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Carlo Luigi Spegazzini, in Spanish Carlos Luis Spegazzini (20 April 1858 – 1 July 1926), was an Italian-born Argentinian botanist and mycologist.

On the 1881/1882 expedition led by Giacomo Bove to explore Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, the Italian Decio Vinciguerra was officially both zoologist and botanist, but in fact Spegazzini handled the botanical work.{{cite journal|url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Bio18Tuat02-t1-body-d1.html

|last=Godley|first=E.J.|journal=Tuatara |volume=18 |issue=2 |date=July 1970 |page=76

|title=Botany of the Southern Zone Exploration, 1847-1891 |access-date=2012-12-06}}

Spegazzini published about 100 scientific papers on vascular plants, describing around 1000 new taxa. He was a professor at the University of La Plata and Buenos Aires in Argentina, curator of the herbarium of the National Department of Agriculture, first head of the herbarium of Museo de la Plata, and founder of an arboretum and an institute of mycology in La Plata city. He issued two exsiccatae, the first series in 1879 with the title Decades mycologicae Italicae distributing fungi from Italy, the second in 1881 with the title Hongos Sud-Americanos: decades mycologiae Argentinae distributing fungal specimens from Argentina.Triebel, D. & Scholz, P. 2001–2024 IndExs – Index of Exsiccatae. – Botanische Staatssammlung München: http://indexs.botanischestaatssammlung.de. – München, Germany.{{cite web |title=Decades mycologicae Italicae: IndExs ExsiccataID=325518608 |website=IndExs – Index of Exsiccatae |publisher=Botanische Staatssammlung München |url=https://www.botanischestaatssammlung.de/DatabaseClients/IndExs/Exsiccatae_IndExs_Details.jsp?ExsiccataID=325518608 |access-date=16 September 2024}}{{cite web |title=Hongos Sud-Americanos: decades mycologiae Argentinae: IndExs ExsiccataID=640095710 |website=IndExs – Index of Exsiccatae |publisher=Botanische Staatssammlung München |url=https://www.botanischestaatssammlung.de/DatabaseClients/IndExs/Exsiccatae_IndExs_Details.jsp?ExsiccataID=640095710 |access-date=16 September 2024}}

In 1924 he edited the journal Revista Argentina de Botánica, but only four issues were published before his death.

In a 1924 Mycologia publication, William Murrill recounted his time visiting with Spegazzini, who was then 66 years old:

Dr Spegazzini is an old man, but strong in body, young in thought, and still full of the spirit of adventure. He has just returned from Tierra del Fuego, is planning to go to Europe next year, and promises me to come to the United States the following year 'if nothing happens'. He was born in a village in Italy and was a student of the fungi there before coming to Argentina. He has described a great many South American plants in various groups but his work is poorly known elsewhere and few of his specimens have been seen by other botanists. ... The Doctor is exceedingly genial in manner and very kind hearted. He and his son stayed with me all day long, showing me specimens, photographs and publications; giving me anything I wanted for our herbarium; taking me out to a sportsman's club for lunch; visiting the museum; and going on a short collecting trip in the woods. We talked French, German, English, Latin and Spanish indiscriminately and recklessly, keeping up a continuous flow of conversation lest our ignorance in certain languages be discovered.

{{botanist|Speg.|border=0|inline=yes}} The International Plant Names Index has more than 2,700 records for plant names of which he is either the author, a co-author or involved in the basionym.{{cite web |url=http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advPlantNameSearch.do;?&find_authorAbbrev=Speg. |title=Search results for author standard form 'Speg.' |website=The International Plant Names Index |access-date=2015-04-26}} Spegazzini was one of the most prolific authors of new fungal species, having formally described about 4900 in his career.{{cite journal |authorlink=Robert Lücking |last=Lücking |first=Robert |title=Three challenges to contemporaneous taxonomy from a licheno-mycological perspective |journal=Megataxa |volume=1 |issue=1 |year=2020 |doi=10.11646/megataxa.1.1.16 |page=78–103 [85]}}

He is also honoured in the naming of several taxa including;{{cite book | last=Burkhardt | first=Lotte | title=Eine Enzyklopädie zu eponymischen Pflanzennamen |trans-title=Encyclopedia of eponymic plant names | publisher=Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin | year=2022 | isbn=978-3-946292-41-8 | url=https://doi.org/10.3372/epolist2022|format=pdf |language=German |location=Berlin | doi=10.3372/epolist2022 | s2cid=246307410 |access-date=January 27, 2022}}

• Spegazzinia a genus of fungi in the Apiosporaceae family by Pier Andrea Saccardo in 1880.{{cite web |title=Spegazzinia - Search Page |url=http://www.speciesfungorum.org/Names/Names.asp?strGenus=Spegazzinia |website=www.speciesfungorum.org |publisher=Species Fungorum |access-date=1 November 2022}}
• Spegazzinites, a genus of fungi, by J.Félix in 1894,{{cite web |title=Spegazzinites J.Félix, 1894 |url=https://www.gbif.org/species/7238519 |website=www.gbif.org |access-date=1 November 2022 |language=en}}
• Spegazzinia by Backeb. in 1933, a genus of cactus which is a synonym of Rebutia,{{cite web |title=Spegazzinia Backeb. {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:5541-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |access-date=1 November 2022 |language=en}}
• Neospegazzinia by Petr. & Syd. in 1936 (genus of Fungi),{{cite web |title=Species Fungorum - GSD Species |url=http://www.speciesfungorum.org/Names/GSDSpecies.asp?RecordID=431859 |website=www.speciesfungorum.org |access-date=1 November 2022}}
• Carlosia by G.Sampaio in 1923, now a synonym of Thelomma {{Au|A.Massal., 1860}},{{cite web |title=Carlosia'' G.Sampaio, 1923 |url=https://www.gbif.org/species/9628680 |website=www.gbif.org |access-date=1 November 2022 |language=en}}
• Spegazziniella by Bat. & I.H.Lima in 1959 (genus of fungi), Schizothyriaceae family,{{cite web |title=Spegazziniella - Search Page |url=http://www.speciesfungorum.org/Names/Names.asp?strGenus=Spegazziniella |website=www.speciesfungorum.org |publisher=Species Fungorum |access-date=1 November 2022}}
• Spegazziniophytum by Esser in 2001 (genus of plant in Euphorbiaceae family).{{cite web |title=Spegazziniophytum Esser {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1019638-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |access-date=1 November 2022 |language=en}}