(1896-1986)
John Nathaniel Couch was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia on October 12, 1896 to John Henry Couch, a Baptist minister, and Sally Love Terry Couch, a schoolteacher. In 1914 he entered Trinity College (now Duke University) in Durham, North Carolina. After three years at Trinity, he transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study medicine, but almost immediately changed to botany, under the influence of William Chambers Coker, then Chair of the Botany Department.
While still an undergraduate, he had a brief tour of duty in France and received his bachelor’s degree in absentia through the University of Nancy. Upon returning to the United States, he completed both an M.S. and a Ph.D. under Dr. Coker and joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an assistant professor in 1922.
During this time he also taught science classes at Chapel Hill High School. He also taught botany at the University while working on his Ph.D. and retained a very active interest in teaching throughout his career, guiding the studies of 27 master’s and 15 doctoral students.
In 1927 he married Else Dorothy Ruprecht of Brooklyn. She was very talented in languages and aided both Couch and his students in translations of French and German literature. They had two children: John Phillip Couch and Sally Louise Couch Gooder.
Upon the retirement of Dr. Coker in 1944, Couch became the Chair of the Botany Department, a post he held until 1960. In 1945 he was awarded a Kenan chair. He retired in 1968, but remained active in the department. He was deeply opposed to the 1982 merger of the botany and zoology departments to form the Biology Department, and was involved in unsuccessful attempts to prevent that action. Dr. Couch died in Chapel Hill on December 16, 1986.
Couch’s mycological specimens at NCU have been cataloged in mycoportal.org; his vascular plant specimens have been cataloged in sernecportal.org .
Dr. Couch followed the interests of his mentor, Dr. Coker, in his research on fungi. He and Coker co-authored a work on the gasteromycetes of the eastern United States, a work which remains unsurpassed.
During a brief period of study in Jamaica, Couch became interested in the genus Septobasidium, a fungus which exists symbiotically on the trunks of tropical trees with scale insects and which became the focus of his life’s work.
His 1938 monograph on the genus earned him the Walker Prize of the Boston Society of Natural History. Other fungal genera on which he worked were Actinoplanes, which he discovered and believed to be a possible link between fungi and bacteria; Coelomomyces, a fungus which parasitizes mosquito larvae; and (briefly) the green alga Vaucheria, in which he studied gametogenesis.
HONORS
1937: Jefferson Medal from the North Carolina Academy of Sciences.
1937-1939: Associate editor of Mycologia.
1943: President of the Mycological Society of America
1946-1947: President of the North Carolina Academy of Sciences.
1946-1961: Editor of the Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society.
1955: Meritorious Teaching Award from the Association of Southeastern Biologists.
1964: Vice-President of Botanical Society of America.
1964: First recipient of the Gold Medal Science Award of the State of North Carolina.
One of the best sources for biographical information about Couch is a piece written by Leland Shanor in the Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society, vol. 84, pp. 1-7, from which much of the material here presented is drawn. This article also lists Couch’s publications.
Another important source is an article by UNC-Chapel Hill Biology Librarian William R. Burk and former Couch student Charles E. Bland which appeared in Mycologia vol. 81, pp. 181-189. In addition to an extensive bibliography, this article includes a list of Couch’s graduate students with the titles of their theses and some personal remembrances of Couch by Dr. Bland. Among Couch’s most influential works are:
Coker, William Chambers & John Nathaniel Couch. 1928. The Gasteromycetes of the Eastern United States and Canada. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Couch, John Nathaniel. 1937. “A new fungus intermediate between the rusts and Septobasidium.” Mycologia 29(6): 665-673.
Couch, John Nathaniel. 1938. The genus Septobasidium. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Couch’s papers are held both at the Southern Historical Collection, Manuscript Department, Wilson Library, and in the archives of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium (NCU). Relevant materials can also be located in among the papers of the Botany Department in the University Archives.
A Bibliography of the Publications of John Nathaniel Couch
Compiled by Joy Mermin, William R. Burk, Frank Quinn and Drew Posny
1920
(with W. C. Coker). A new species of Achlya. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 36: 100-101.
1922
Science in the high school. A review of science teaching in the high schools of North Carolina for 1920-1921. High School Journal 5: 211-216.
Spore Formation and Discharge in Some Genera of Water Molds. M.A. Thesis. 22 p.
[Abstract]. Spore Formation and Discharge in Some Genera of Water Molds (Thesis for the A.M. degree). University of North Carolina Record 196: 6-7.
1923
(with W. C. Coker). The Gasteromycetes of North Carolina. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 38: 231-243.
(with W. C. Coker). A new species of Thraustotheca. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 39: 112-115.
1924
[Abstract]. A dioecious water mold (Dictyuchus monosporus). Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 40: 116.
(with W. C. Coker). Revision of the genus Thraustotheca, with a description of a new species. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 40: 197-202.
Sexual reproduction and variability in the genus Dictyuchus. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the University of North Carolina in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Botany. 52 p.
[Abstract]. Sexuality and variation in the genus Dictyuchus. Doctoral Dissertation. University of North Carolina Record 212: 7-8.
Some observations on spore formation and discharge in Leptolegnia, Achlya, and Aphanomyces. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 40: 27-42.
1925
A new dioecious species of Choanephora. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 41:141-150.
[Abstract]. (with W.C. Coker). The Gasteromycetes of the Eastern United States and Canada. University of North Carolina Record 226: 5. 1926
Heterothallism in Dictyuchus, a genus of the water moulds. Annals of Botany (London) 40: 849- 881.
Notes on the genus Aphanomyces, with a description of a new semiparasitic species. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 41: 213-227.
1927
[Abstract]. Heterothallism in Dictyuchus, a genus of water molds. University of North Carolina Record 247: 7.
[Abstract]. Notes of the genus Aphanomyces, with a description of a new semiparasitic species. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 42: 213. 1926. (University of North Carolina Record 247: 7).
Some new water fungi from the soil, with observations on spore formation. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 42: 227-242.
[Abstract]. Some new water fungi from the soil, with observations on spore formation. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 42: 227. 1927. (University of North Carolina Record 247: 7-8).
1928
(with W. C. Coker). The Gasteromycetes of the Eastern United States and Canada. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, ix, 201 p. & 123 pls.
[Abstract]. Septobasidium (paper). University of North Carolina Record 257: 9-10. 1929
A monograph of Septobasidium. Part I. Jamaican species. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 44: 242-260.
1931
The biological relationship between Septobasidium retiforme (B. & C.) Pat. and Aspidiotus osborni New. and Ckll. Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science 74: 383-437.
[Abstract]. The biological relationship between Septobasidium and scale insects. pp. 369-370. In F. T. Brooks and T. F. Chipp (editors), Report of proceedings, Fifth International Botanical Congress, Cambridge, 16-23 August 1930. Cambridge, England: University Press.
Micromyces zygogonii Dang., parasitic on Spirogyra. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 46: 231-239.
Observations on some species of water molds connecting Achlya and Dictyuchus. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 46: 225-230.
1932
[Abstract]. The biological relationship between Septobasidium and scale insects. Report of the Proceedings of the Fifth International Botanical Congress, 1931, pp. 369-370. (University of North Carolina Record 282: 8).
The development of the sexual organs in Leptolegnia caudata. American Journal of Botany 19: 584-599.
[Abstract]. The formation and development of the sexual organs in Leptolegnia caudata. University of North Carolina Record 282: 8-9.
[Abstract]. Further studies on the sexual conditions found in Dictyuchus. University of North Carolina Record 282: 9.
[Abstract]. Gametogenesis in Vaucheria. University of North Carolina Record 282: 8.
Gametogenesis in Vaucheria. Botanical Gazette 94: 272-296.
[Abstract]. Rhizophidium, Phlyctochytrium, and Phlyctidium in the United States. University of North Carolina Record 282: 8.
Rhizophidium, Phlyctochytrium and Phlyctidium in the United States. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 47: 245-260.
1933
Basidia of Septobasidium (Glenospora) curtisii. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 49: 156-162.
1935
An incompletely known chytrid: Mitochytridium ramosum. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 51: 293-296.
New or little known Chytridiales. Mycologia 27: 160-175.
A new saprophytic species of Lagenidium, with notes on other forms. Mycologia 27: 376-387.
Septobasidium in the United States. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 51: 1-77.
[Abstract]. Structure of Septobasidium in relation to the association with scale insects. pp. 154-156. In M. J. Sirks (editor), Proceedings, Zesde Internationaal Botanisch Congres, Amsterdam, 2-7 September 1935, vol. 2. Leiden: E.J. Brill.
1937
The formation and operation of the traps in the nematode-catching fungus, Dactylella bembicodes Drechsler. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 53: 301-309.
[Abstract]. A fungus that catches nematodes. University of North Carolina Record 323: 9.
[Abstract]. Monograph of Septobasidium. University of North Carolina Record 323: 10.
[Abstract]. A new fungus intermediate between the rusts and Septobasidium. University of North Carolina Record 323: 9.
A new fungus intermediate between the rusts and Septobasidium. Mycologia 29: 665-673.
Notes on the genus Micromyces. Mycologia 29: 592-596.
1938
The genus Septobasidium. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, ix, 480 p.
[Abstract]. A new chytrid: Nephrochytrium stellatum. University of North Carolina Record 335: 10.
A new chytrid on Nitella: Nephrochytrium stellatum. American Journal of Botany 25: 507-511.
A new species of Chytridium from Mountain Lake, Virginia. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 54: 256-259.
[Abstract]. Observations on cilia of aquatic Phycomycetes. Science 88: 476.
1939
[Abstract]. Further studies on infection of scale insects by Septobasidium, pp. 217-218. In Abstracts of communications, Third International Congress for Microbiology, New York, 2-9 September 1939. Baltimore: Waverly Press.
Heterothallism in the Chytridiales. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 55: 409-414.
A new Conidiobolus with sexual reproduction. American Journal of Botany 26: 119-130.
(with J. Leitner and A. Whiffen). A new genus of the Plasmodiophoraceae. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 55: 399-408.
Review of H. C. I. Gwynne-Vaughan and B. Barnes. The Structure and Development of the Fungi. 2nd and revised edition. Science 89: 295-296.
Technic for collection, isolation and culture of chytrids. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell ScientificSociety 55: 208-214.
1940
[Abstract]. Notes on Septobasidium from Mexico (lantern). Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 56: 223-224.
1941
[Abstract]. (with V. K. Charles, J. G. Harrar and J. J. McKelvey Jr). A fungus parasite of the mealy bug. Phytopathology 31: 5.
A new Uredinella from Ceylon. Mycologia 33: 405-410.
The structure and action of the cilia in some aquatic Phycomycetes. American Journal of Botany 28: 704-713.
1942
A new fungus on crab eggs. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 58: 158-162.
(with A. J. Whiffen). Observations on the genus Blastocladiella. American Journal of Botany 29: 582-591.
[Abstract]. Studies on lower fungi with particular reference to sex and nutrition. American Philosophical Society, Year Book 1941: 153-154.
1943
[Abstract]. The rediscovery of Nadsonia, a yeast with heterogamic conjugation. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 59: 118.
[Abstract]. Studies on lower fungi with particular reference to sex and nutrition. American Philosophical Society, Year Book 1942: 157-158.
1944
The yeast Nadsonia in America. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 60: 11-16.
1945
Observations on the genus Catenaria. Mycologia 37: 163-193.
Review of J. C. Gilman. A Manual of Soil Fungi. Science 102: 385-386.
Review of J. S. Karling. Simple Holocarpic Biflagellate Phycomycetes. Mycologia 37: 794-795.
Revision of the genus Coelomomyces parasitic in insect larvae. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 61: 124-136.
1946
Two species of Septobasidium from Mexico with unusual insect houses. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 62: 87-94.
1947
(with H. R. Dodge). Further observations on Coelomomyces, parasitic on mosquito larvae. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 63: 69-79.
1949
A new group of organisms related to Actinomyces. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 65: 315-318.
A new species of Ancylistes on a saccoderm desmid. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific
Society 65: 131-136.
The taxonomy of Septobasidium polypodii and S. album. Mycologia 41: 427-441. 1950
Actinoplanes, a new genus of the Actinomycetales. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 66: 87-92.
1951
[Abstract]. Further observations on the motile cells of Actinoplanes. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 67: 176-177.
Review of A. R. Childs. (editor) The Private Journal of Henry William Ravenel. Garden Journal of
the New York Botanical Garden 1: 188-189.
1952
[Abstract]. (with W. J. Koch). Further studies on the motile spores of Actinoplanes. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 68: 138.
1953
[Abstract]. (with E. K. Goldie-Smith and W. J. Koch). A demonstration of gross cultural characters, sporangia, and swimming spores in the new genus Actinoplanes. Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science 28: 178-179.
[Abstract]. A new form connecting Actinoplanes with Streptomyces. Journal of the Tennessee
Academy of Science 28: 178.
The occurrence of thin-walled sporangia in Physoderma zeae-maydis on corn in the field. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 69: 182-184.
1954
The genus Actinoplanes and its relatives. Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences 16:
315-318.
(with V. D. Matthews). William Chambers Coker. Mycologia 46: 372-383.
(with H. R. Totten). William Chambers Coker. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 70: 116-118.
1955
Actinosporangiaceae should be Actinoplanaceae. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society
71: 269.
The family Actinoplanaceae. Bacteriological Reviews 19: 272.
A new genus and family of the Actinomycetales, with a revision of the genus Actinoplanes. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 71: 148-155.
Family IV. Actinoplanaceae Couch, Actinosporangiaceae Couch. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell
Scientific Society 71: 825-829.
1957
Actinomycetales [and] Actinoplanaceae, pp. 694-695, 825-829. In Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology. 7th edition. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Company.
A new horizon in soil microbiology. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of India 27:
69-73.
1958
Taxonomic criteria in Actinoplanaceae. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 74: 95.
1959
(with C. E. Miller). Lyophilization of the Actinoplanaceae. Mycologia 51: 146-150.
1960
Actinoplanaceae, p. 57. In McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.
Some fungal parasites of mosquitoes, pp. 35-45. In Biological Control of Insects of Medical
Importance. Washington: American Institute of Biological Sciences.
1961
[Abstract]. (with C. J. Umphlett). Germination of the resting sporangium of Coelomomyces. ASB Bulletin 8: 33.
1962
[Abstract]. (with W. J. Koch). Induction of motility in the spores of some Actinoplanaceae
(Actinomycetales). Science 138: 987.
Validation of the family Coelomomycetaceae and certain species and varieties of Coelomomyces.
Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 78: 135-138.
1963
(with C. J. Umphlett). Coelomomyces infections, pp. 149-188. In E. A. Steinhaus (editor), Insect
Pathology, an Advanced Treatise. New York: Academic Press.
Some new genera and species of the Actinoplanaceae. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific
Society 79: 53-70.
1964
The name Ampullaria Couch has been replaced by Ampullariella. International Bulletin on
Bacteriological Nomenclature and Taxonomy 14: 137.
A proposal to replace the name Ampullaria Couch with Ampullariella. Journal of the Elisha
Mitchell Scientific Society 80: 29.
1966
Actinoplanaceae, p. 57. In McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, vol. 1. 2nd
edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
1967
[Abstract]. (with C. J. Umphlett and Iyengar, M. O.T. [i.e., P.]). Infection experiments with a
fungus (Coelomomyces) which kills malarial mosquitoes. Science 158: 526.
[Abstract]. (with C. E. Bland). Observations on the chromatinic bodies of two strains of
Actinoplanaceae. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 83: 171-172.
Sporangial germination of Coelomomyces punctatus and the conditions favoring the infection
of Anopheles quadrimaculatus under laboratory conditions, pp. 93-105. In Proceedings of the Joint U.S.-Japan Seminar on Microbial Control of Insect Pests, Fukuoka 21-23 April 1967. Fukuoka: United States – Japan Committee on Scientific Cooperation.
1968
(with C. E. Bland). Observations on the chromatinic bodies of two species of the Actinoplanaceae.
The Journal of General Microbiology 53: 95-100.
1969
(with W. C. Coker). The Gasteromycetes of the Eastern United States and Canada. Reprint edition.
Lehre, Germany: J. Cramer, ix, 201 p. & 123 pls.
1971
Actinoplanaceae, p. 67. In McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, vol. 1. 3rd
edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
[Abstract]. Coelomomyces, a fungus for mosquito control. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 68: 2898A.
1972
George Willard Martin, an appreciation. American Midland Naturalist 87: 257.
Mass production of Coelomomyces, a fungus that kills mosquitoes. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 69: 2043-2047.
1973
(with C. E. Bland). Scanning electron microscopy of sporangia of Coelomomyces. Canadian
Journal of Botany 51: 1325-1330.
(with S. V. Romney). Sexual reproduction in Lagenidium giganteum. Mycologia 65: 250-252.
1974
(with C. E. Bland). Actinoplanaceae [&] genus I. Actinoplanes-genus V. Ampullariella [&] genus
X. Kitasatoa, pp. 706-718, 722-723. In R. E. Buchanan and N. E. Gibbons (editors), Bergey’s
Manual of Determinative Bacteriology. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins Company.
[Abstract]. (with P. R. Parrish, D. J. Hansen, J. M. Patrick Jr and G. H. Cook). Effects of
polychlorinated biphenyl aroclor 1016, on estuarine animals. ASB Bulletin 21: 74.
(with W. C. Coker). The Gasteromycetes of the Eastern United States and Canada (including The
Gasteromycetae of Ohio: puffballs, birds’-nest-fungi and stinkhorns, by Minnie May Johnson)
Reprint edition. New York: Dover Press, 201 p. & 123 pls; 82 p. & 5 pls.
(with S. V. Romney and B. Rao). A new fungus which attacks mosquitoes and related Diptera.
Mycologia 66: 374-379.
1977
Actinoplanaceae, p. 67. In McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, vol. 1. 4th
edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
(with R. E. McNitt). Coelomomyces pathogens of Culicidae (mosquitos) [sic]. Bulletin of the
World Health Organization 55 (suppl. 1): 123-145.
1979
(with R. V. Andreeva, M. Laird and R. A. Nolan). Tabanomyces milkoi (Dudka and Koval)
emended, genus novum, a fungal pathogen of horseflies. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States of America 76: 2299-2302.
William Chambers Coker, pp. 398. In William S. Powell (editor), Dictionary of North Carolina
Biography, vol. 1. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
1980
Actinoplanaceae [in Russian], pp. 362-367. In Short Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology. Moscow: Mir.
1981
(with C. E. Bland). The family Actinoplanaceae, pp. 2004-2010. In Starr, M. P. et al. (editors), The Prokaryotes: a Handbook on Habitats, Isolation and Identification of Bacteria. Berlin: SpringerVerlag.
(with C. E. Bland and S. Y. Newell). Identification of Coelomomyces, Saprolegniales and
Lagenidiales, pp. 129-162. In H. D. Burges (editor), Microbial Control of Pests and Plant Diseases
1970-1980. New York: Academic Press.
1982
Actinoplanaceae, p. 92-93. In McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, vol. 1. 5th
edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
(with A. W. Sweeny and C. Panter). The identity of an Australian isolate of Culicinomyces.
Mycologia 74: 162-165.
1985
(with Bland, C. E., editors). The Genus Coelomomyces. Orlando, Florida: Academic Press, xv, 399
p.
(with C. E. Bland). Introduction [and] Structure and development [and] Taxonomy. pp. 1-8, 23-80, 81-297, respectively. In J. N. Couch and C. E. Bland (editors), The Genus Coelomomyces.
Orlando, Florida: Academic Press.
+++++
*This post was originally written by Ron Gilmour in collaboration with William Burk, Jimmy R. Massey, Mary McKee Felton, and James Murphy. It was edited in 2021 by Carol Ann McCormick.