Andrew Methven is a mycologist and lichenologist with interests in the systematics, ecology, and phylogeny of fleshy fungi and lichens. He teaches courses in mycology, lichens, and field mycology and maintains the Cryptogamic Herbarium (with more than 10,000 collections of fungi and lichens). Included among his research interests are the identification and ecology of fleshy fungi, mycogeography, the effects of forest alteration on fleshy fungi, the application
of compatibility studies and molecular techniques to fungal systematics, and the identification
and distribution of lichens in the Midwest.
His current research program is examining the distribution of the mushroom genus Lactarius
in the Western Hemisphere, the utilization of biological and phylogenetic species concepts in systematic studies of fleshy fungi, and the application of molecular techniques to population studies and mycogeography in the mushroom genus Flammulina.
Recent research projects involving undergraduate and graduate students have specifically examined: The effects of sugar maple removal from endemic oak-hickory forests on the occurrence and distribution of fleshy fungi; the occurrence and distribution of mycorrhizae with the roots of endemic and exotic plants; the distribution of rare and endangered lichens in fragmented forest ecosystems; the utilization of compatibility studies, RFLP analyses, and DNA sequence data to define biological and phylogenetic species of fleshy fungi.