Italian pteridologist. Rodolfo Pichi Sermolli, or 'Fofo' as he was known, was a professor of botany and the director of the Botanical Institute of Genoa. Although his first publication in 1932 was on the Cactaceae he devoted all his future research to ferns of the world, a field in which he published descriptions of many new species and genera. Pichi was particularly interested in the ferns of dry ecosystems in Africa and using a variety of techniques he studied the classification of the pteridophytes at every level. He travelled to Argentina in 1973, visiting La Plata and continued his studies in Patagonia. In total he published 162 articles and for the last of which he worked alongside his second wife M. P. Bizzarri. Pichi was a member of the Linnaean Society of London, the Botanical Society of America and the American Society of Ferns, he received the Hailé Selassié prize for his work in Ethiopia. He was also made a professor emeritus by the University of Perugia, Italy.

Sources:
De la Sota, E. R., 2006, "Rodolfo E. G. Pichi Sermolli (1912-2005) ", Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica 41 (1-2): 152
Anon, 1972, "Minutes of the Society Meeting", Plant Science Bulletin 18(1): http://www.botany.org/plantsciencebulletin/psb-1972-18-1.php.