Rex Bertram Filson (born 1930) is an Australian lichenologist who made major contributions to knowledge of lichens in Australia and

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. Early in his career Filson worked as a carpenter in various places around Australia, and from 1961 to 1963 was employed as a carpenter by the

Australian Antarctic Division The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) is a division of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water. The division undertakes science programs and research projects to contribute to an understanding of Antarctica and the S ...

. This was the start of his career as a lichenologist. In 1964, he was employed by the Royal Botanic Gardens. Employment with the Victorian Department of Crown Lands and Survey followed (1964–1988), first as a seed-collector and finally as senior botanist. During this period, he acquired a Master of Science (1979) and a Doctor of Science (1988) from

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

. In 1970, Filson was awarded a

Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...

to compare northern hemisphere with Australian lichens. The

National Herbarium of Victoria The National Herbarium of Victoria (Index Herbariorum code: MEL) is one of Australia's earliest herbaria and the oldest scientific institution in Victoria. Its 1.56 million specimens of preserved plants, fungi and algae—collectively known ...

holds the majority of Filson's collections, over 15,000 specimens, with duplicates distributed around Australian Herbaria including AD, BRI, CANB, HO,

NSW New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. T ...

and

PERTH Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, with several in overseas herbaria such s MSK, GZU, F and

UPS UPS most commonly refers to: * Uninterruptible power supply, a device which provides continuous power to electronics * United Parcel Service, an American courier company UPS or ups may also refer to: Companies and organizations United Parcel S ...

. In 1975, Filson edited the

exsiccata Exsiccata (Latin, ''gen.'' -ae, ''plur.'' -ae) is a work with "published, uniform, numbered set of preserved specimens distributed with printed labels". Typically, exsiccatae are numbered collections of dried herbarium Biological specimen, spe ...

''Lichenes Antarctici exsiccati''. Filson Nunatak in Antarctica is named in his honour, as are the lichen genera '' Filsoniana'' and ''

Rexiella ''Rexiella'' is a lichen genus in the family Cladoniaceae. The genus, originally circumscribed with the name ''Rexia'' by authors Soili Stenroos, Raquel Pino-Bodas, and Teuvo Ahti in 2018, was created to contain the species ''Cladonia sullivani ...

''.

Standard author abbreviation

Selected taxa

An advanced search of the Mycobank database shows that he authored some 90 fungi, including: * '' Buellia foecunda'' Filson * ''Heterodea beaugleholei'' Filson (now '' Cladia beaugleholei'') *'' Xanthoparmelia elixii'' Filson

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Filson, Rex Bertram Living people 1930 births Australian lichenologists Monash University alumni Muelleria (journal) editors Australian Botanical Liaison Officers