(14 February 1927 – 3 February 2016)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium (NCU) has cataloged approximately 30 mycological specimens collected by Allyn Austin Cook, who consistently signed his name as “A. A. Cook” on herbarium labels. As NCU’s collection continues to be cataloged, additional specimens collected by Cook will likely be found. All the specimens found thus far at NCU were collected in the summer of 1962 while Cook was doing research at Highlands Biological Station.3, 4
FLAS (University of Florida Herbarium) has a few mycological specimens collected by Cook. Specimens collected by Cook are being cataloged at www.mycoportal.org , a consortium of herbaria across North America.
Allyn Austin Cook was born on 14 February 1927 in Dudley, Illinois.1 In 1951 Cook earned a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin, Madison with his thesis, “Studies on the disease cycle of Crucifer Black Rot.” He spent the majority of his professional career at the University of Florida, Gainesville. “After he retired, he kept himself busy with a vast array of projects. He developed five new Gardenia varieties, obtained patents on three of them, wrote two books, played duplicate bridge, golfed and bird-watched and was a stamp and coin collector.”1 He died on 3 February 2016 and is buried in Grandview Cemetery in Grandview, Edgar County, Illinois.2
PUBLICATIONS:
Cook, Allyn A. 1951 Studies in the disease cycle of Crucifer Black Rot. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Cook, A. A., G. M. Milbrath, and R. A. Hamilton. 1971. Woody gall and scaly bark of Mangifera indica in Hawaii. Phytopathology 61: 1320.
Cook, A. A. 1975. Diseases of tropical and subtropical fruits and nuts. Hafner Press, New York.
Delgado, J. C. and A. A. Cook. 1976. Nuclear condition of the basidia, basidiospores, and mycelium of Marasmius perniciosus. Canadian Journal of Botany 65: 66-72.
Cook, Allyn A. 1981. Diseases of Tropical and Subtropical Field, Fiber, and Oil Plants. Macmillan Publishing Co., New York.
Calle, H. A., A. A. Cook, and S. Y. Fernando. 1982. Histology of witches’ broom caused in cacao by Crinipellis perniciosa. Phytopathology 72: 1479-1481.SOURCES:
1. Obituary: Allyn Austin Cook. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/gainesville/obituary.aspx?pid=177603553 , accessed on 14 November 2017.
2. Findagrave Memorial ID 160415956 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/160415956/allyn-austin-cook , accessed on 14 November 2017.
3. Pers. com. Email James Costa, Highlands Biological Station, to McCormick 14 Nov. 2017.
4. Sargent, R. M. 1977. Biology in the Blue Ridge: Fifty Years of the Highlands Biological Station 1927-1977. Highlands, NC: Highlands Biological Foundation, Inc. (page 78)