Vera Charles began working for the USDA in 1903. She spent 40 years working on a wide range of fungal pathogens, including fungi that parasitize insects. Charles made significant contributions, investigating fungi imported into the United States on plants and agricultural commodities. She also described a diverse collection of fungi sent to the laboratory, making many additions to the U.S. National Fungus Collections (now the Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service).
(Submitted for publication in July 2008.)
