Fungal Philately: Mushrooms on Stamps August 12, 2019 – January 13, 2020 Marston Science Library George A. Smathers Libraries University of Florida Curated by Sarah Prentice and Suzanne Stapleton

Introduction to Fungal Philately

Fungal philately is the collection and study of postage stamps depicting mushrooms and other fungi. Amanita muscaria (fly agaric), Boletus edulis (porcini), and Cantharellus cibarius (golden chanterelle) are the most popular mushroom species on postage stamps. Walter F.O. Marasas, Hendrieka M. Marasas, Michael J. Wingfield and Pedro W. Crous Philatelic Mycology: Families of Fungi 2014 CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre HE6183.M84 P45 2014 Marston Science Library George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida Postage stamps are typically organized by country of origin and date of issue. In this title, exactly 1,000 international stamps are organized by taxonomic family.

Four stamps from different nations all depict the golden chanterelle, Cantharellus cibarius: Mongolia, 1985; Nicaragua, 1990; Poland (Polska), 1959; Romania (RP Romina), 1958. The Romanian stamp is part of the first set of stamps depicting mushrooms ever issued. Loan courtesy of Sarah Prentice Instructional model of Cantharellus cibarius Germany Loan courtesy of UF Department of Plant Pathology

Denise Binion, Steven L. Stephenson, and William C. Roody Macrofungi Associated with Oaks of Eastern North America 2008 West Virginia University Press QK604.5.B56 2008 Marston Science Library George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida Members of the genus Cantharellus, commonly called chanterelles, are choice edible mushrooms popular among local foragers. Accurate identification is critical; never consume wild mushrooms without expert identification.

Penicillin: A Fungal Hero

Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming discovered the fungal mold Penicillium by accident in 1928, when it contaminated bacterial cultures in his laboratory. It was later refined to produce the first modern antibiotic drug penicillin, revolutionizing the treatment of infectious diseases.

Kevin Brown Penicillin Man: Alexander Fleming and the Antibiotic Revolution 2005 Sutton Publishing QR31.F5 B76 2005 Marston Science Library George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida

Mauritius 50th Anniversary of the Discovery of Penicillin 1978 Loan courtesy of Sarah Prentice Designed by Jessica Toombs, this commemorative sheet includes a reproduction of Fleming’s handwritten lab notes when he first recognized Penicillium notatum suppressing the growth of Staphylococcus bacterial colonies.

Kenneth B Raper and Charles Thom Manual of the Penicillia 1949 QK 623.P4 R3 Marston Science Library George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida One of the first challenges for medical application of penicillin was producing quantities to meet human needs. Initially, the fungus was grown in petri dishes; later, new techniques and selected strains significantly increased yields. Eruser Penicillum crysogenum 3D Model March 27, 2017 #707588 https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/science/medical/penicillium-chrysogenum Printed by Marston Science Library 3D Laboratory This model is a magnification of the reproductive structure of Penicillium. Most fungi reproduce by spores, which may be either sexual or asexual. Conidia (asexual spores) of Penicillum crysogenum are borne on specialized stalks called conidiophores.

Lisa Yount, ed. Antibiotics 2005 615.329 Ant Mead Library George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida Overuse of the antibiotic penicillin has led to growth of resistant bacteria. The World Health Organization declares antibiotic resistance as “one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development today” (World Health Organization Antibiotic Resistance Fact Sheet, 2019)

Mycologists Mycologists study mushrooms and fungi. Three notable North American mycologists are featured on the stamp sheet Les Mycologues from the Central African Republic. These mycologists were avid collectors not only of fungi, but also of art, books, shells, and stamps. Central African Republic Les Mycologues (The Mycologists) 2001 Loan courtesy of Sarah Prentice William Alphonso Murrill (1869-1957) worked at the New York Botanical Gardens and founded Mycologia, the official journal of the Mycological Society of America. He spent the last several decades of his life at the University of Florida, where he described hundreds of species of fungi from local woodlands, and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Gainesville. Fred Jay Seaver (1877-1970) worked at the New York Botanical Gardens from 1908 to 1948 and succeeded Murrill as editor of the journal Mycologia. Seaver studied, described and published on the cup fungi that includes such well-known fungi as the morels and crimson cups. Arthur Henry Reginald Buller (1874-1944) was a British-Canadian mycologist and plant pathologist. He chaired the Department of Botany at the University of Manitoba from 1904 to 1936. His best-known academic work is the seven-volume Researches in Fungi.

Arthur Henry Reginald Buller Carpe Fungum 1927 Library and Archives Canada Buller designed this bookplate for his personal library. Carpe Fungum means “collect the fungi.”

Fred Jay Seaver Phillipsia chardoniana Seaver From the North American Cup-Fungi (Operculates) 1961 QK623.D6 S4 1961 Plant Diagnostic Center Library University of Florida This striking cup fungus is now known as Phillipsia domingensis and may be found locally.

G.F. Weber William A. Murrill in Florida 1942 LuEsther T. Mertz Library Vertical Files New York Botanical Garden Murrill’s “first joy and pleasure in his retirement was the study of fleshy fungi of Florida, wherein he described over 600 forms of agarics and over 50 polypores and hydnums. Dr. Murrill was an ardent photographer and artist; he was a capable writer, critic, and editor; he was a collector not only of fungi but of items of art, sculpture, paintings, stamps, and shells…” (Weber, 1961). Weber, G. 1961. William Alphonso Murrill. Mycologia, 53(6), 543-557. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3756456

Sarah Prentice Loblolly Woods Nature Park Foray 2018 Courtesy of Sarah Prentice Modern-day amateur mycologists collect and identify mushrooms during a fungal foray with the Florida Academic Lichen and Fungi Enthusiasts League (FALAFEL).

Mushroom Diversity

A mushroom is the fleshy above-ground fruiting body, or reproductive structure, of a larger fungal organism. Mushrooms are incredibly diverse, produced in a number of shapes, sizes, and colors. Fascinating features of some mushrooms include the ability to glow (bioluminesce).

United States Bioluminescent Life 2018 Loan courtesy of Sarah Prentice Living organisms that emit light are bioluminescent; fireflies are a common example. This stamp sheet portrays ten different bioluminescent organisms, including the first mushroom-themed stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service. Mycena lucentipes was photographed by Taylor Lockwood of Mt. Dora, Florida.

Cassius V. Stevani Mycena luxaeterna From Mycologia vol. 102, no. 2 2010 QK600 .M8 Marston Science Library, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida Mycologia has been a major publication for mycologists since its inception in 1909. It was first published by the New York Botanical Garden under the editorship of W.A. Murrill. This cover shows light and dark images of a bioluminescent species recently described from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Bulgaria 1987 Loan courtesy of Sarah Prentice Unusual for mushroom-themed stamps, this set includes a cross-section line drawing of each specimen. Notice that some of these mushrooms have gills on the underside of the cap, while others have closely-packed tubes that form a pore surface.

Sam Norris Parts of a Mushroom From Mushrooms of the Southeastern United States by Alan E. Bessette, William C. Roody, Arleen R. Bessette, Dail L. Dunway 2007 Syracuse University Press QK605.5 .S67 M87 Marston Science Library George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida