# Kenneth A. Harrison

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{{Short description|Canadian mycologist (1901-1991)}}
'''Kenneth A. Harrison''' (1901 – November 5, 1991) was a Canadian [mycologist](/source/mycologist). He was for many years a [plant pathologist](/source/plant_pathologist) at what is now the [Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre](/source/Atlantic_Food_and_Horticulture_Research_Centre) in [Nova Scotia](/source/Nova_Scotia). After retirement, he contributed to the [taxonomy](/source/taxonomy_(biology)) of the [Agaricomycotina](/source/Agaricomycotina), particularly the [tooth fungi](/source/tooth_fungi) of the families [Hydnaceae](/source/Hydnaceae) and [Bankeraceae](/source/Bankeraceae), in which he described several new species.

==Early life and career==
Originally from [New Brunswick](/source/New_Brunswick), Harrison graduated from [Nova Scotia Agricultural College](/source/Nova_Scotia_Agricultural_College)  in 1922, and, in 1924, from the [Ontario Agricultural College](/source/Ontario_Agricultural_College) with a [B.Sc.](/source/B.Sc.) in agriculture.<ref name="BNSN 1991"/> He earned an [MSc](/source/MSc) in [plant pathology](/source/plant_pathology) from [Macdonald Campus](/source/Macdonald_Campus) of [McGill University](/source/McGill_University) a year later. A doctoral degree he started at the [University of Toronto](/source/University_of_Toronto) in 1929 was abandoned due to the [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression).<ref name="BNSN 1991"/> He established a [herbarium](/source/herbarium) of mycological specimens where he was employed for many years at the Kentville Research Station (now the [Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre](/source/Atlantic_Food_and_Horticulture_Research_Centre)); most of his collections are now housed at the Canadian National Mycological Herbarium.<ref name="Estey 1994"/> His early research concerned the fungal infestation of plants, such as that of ''[Colletotrichum lindemuthianum](/source/Colletotrichum_lindemuthianum)'' on beans (''[Phaseolus](/source/Phaseolus)''). Working with [John Frederick DeWitt Hockey](/source/John_Frederick_DeWitt_Hockey), they made many contributions to the control and prevention of diseases of horticultural crops. They were among the first to use the sticky [slide](/source/microscope_slide) spore trap to estimate the densities of fungal [spore](/source/spore)s.<ref name="Obit"/>

==Post-retirement activities==
After his retirement in 1966, Harrison began studying the mushroom-producing species of the [Agaricomycotina](/source/Agaricomycotina) more avidly. Collections forays throughout Nova Scotia, in the [Great Smoky Mountains](/source/Great_Smoky_Mountains), [New Mexico](/source/New_Mexico), the [Upper Peninsula of Michigan](/source/Upper_Peninsula_of_Michigan), and the [Pacific Northwest](/source/Pacific_Northwest) led to him [describing](/source/species_description) several new species in the genera ''[Steccherinum](/source/Steccherinum)'', and [tooth fungi](/source/tooth_fungi) in ''[Hydnellum](/source/Hydnellum)'', ''[Sarcodon](/source/Sarcodon)'', ''[Phellodon](/source/Phellodon)''. Harrison died in [Kentville](/source/Kentville), Nova Scotia, in 1991.<ref name="Obit"/> The Department of Biology at [Acadia University](/source/Acadia_University) has a mycology laboratory named in his honour.<ref name="BNSN 1991"/>

==Eponymous species==
The tooth fungus ''[Sarcodon harrisonii](/source/Sarcodon_harrisonii)'' was named in his honor by Richard Baird, who noted "Dr. Kenneth Harrison the North American expert on the stipitate hydnums. From his publications, professional and amateur mycologists can more easily identify the taxa of the group".<ref name="Baird 1985"/> Other fungi named after Harrison include:
*''[Boletus harrisonii](/source/Boletus_harrisonii)'' [A.H. Sm.](/source/Alexander_H._Smith) & [Thiers](/source/Harry_D._Thiers)<ref name="Smith 1971"/>
*''[Ramaria harrisonii](/source/Ramaria_harrisonii)'' [R.H. Petersen](/source/Ron_Petersen) 1986<ref name="Petersen 1986"/>
*''[Psathyrella harrisonii](/source/Psathyrella_harrisonii)'' A.H. Sm. 1972<ref name="Smith 1972"/>
*''[Cortinarius harrisonii](/source/Cortinarius_harrisonii)'' Ammirati, Niskanen & Liimat. 2013<ref name="Niskanen 2013"/>

{{botanist|K.A.Harrison}}

==See also==
*[List of mycologists](/source/List_of_mycologists)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="Baird 1985">{{cite journal |author=Baird, Richard E. |title=New species of stipitate hydnums from southeastern United States and Mexico |journal=Mycotaxon |year=1985 |volume=23 |pages=297–304 |url=http://www.cybertruffle.org.uk/cyberliber/59575/0023/0297.htm}}</ref>

<ref name="BNSN 1991">{{cite journal |title=Dr. Kenneth Archibald Harrison |journal=Blomidon Naturalists Society Newsletter |year=1991 |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=17–19 |url=http://blomidonnaturalists.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/BNSNL_V18N04.pdf |archive-date=2016-02-08 |access-date=2016-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208013410/http://blomidonnaturalists.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/BNSNL_V18N04.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Estey 1994">{{cite book |author=Estey, Ralph H. |title=Essays on the Early History of Plant Pathology and Mycology in Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6kT1lH8baSAC&pg=PA251 |year=1994 |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP |isbn=978-0-7735-1135-4 |page=251}}</ref>

<ref name="Niskanen 2013">{{cite journal |author=Niskanen, Tuula |author2=Liimatainen, Kare |author3=Ammirati, Joseph F. |author4=Hughes, Karen W. |title=''Cortinarius'' section ''Sanguinei'' in North America |journal=Mycologia |year=2013 |volume=105 |issue=2 |pages=344–356 |doi=10.3852/12-086 |pmid=22962360}}</ref>

<ref name="Obit">{{cite journal |url=http://dalspace.library.dal.ca/bitstream/handle/10222/35322/NSIS_v40_p1_a7_Obituary_K.A_Harrison.pdf?sequence=1 |title=Obituary of K.A. Harrison |journal=Nova Scotian Institute of Science |year=1993 |volume=40 |pages=47–51}}</ref>

<ref name="Petersen 1986">{{cite journal |author=Petersen, Ronald H. |title=Some ''Ramaria'' taxa from Nova Scotia |journal=Canadian Journal of Botany |year=1986 |volume=64 |issue=8 |pages=1786–1811 |doi=10.1139/b86-238}}</ref>

<ref name="Smith 1971">{{cite book |author=Smith, Alexander H. |author2=Thiers, Harry D. |title=The Boletes of Michigan |year=1971 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |location=Ann Arbor, Michigan |page=267 |url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/f/fung1tc/agk0838.0001.001/275?view=image&size=100}}</ref>

<ref name="Smith 1972">{{cite book |author=Smith, Alexander H. |title=The North American species of ''Psathyrella'' |year=1972 |series=Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden |volume=24 |page=235 |url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/f/fung1tc/ajn6254.0001.001/243?page=root;rgn=full+text;size=100;view=image}}</ref>

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Kenneth A.}}
Category:1901 births
Category:1991 deaths
Category:Canadian mycologists
Category:Nova Scotia Agricultural College alumni
Category:McGill University Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences alumni

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kenneth A. Harrison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_A._Harrison) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_A._Harrison?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.