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, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. 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 and Water. The Division undertakes science programs and research projects to contribute to an understanding of Antarctica and the ...

. 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 research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

. 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 1.5 million specimens of preserved plants, fungi and algae—collectively known a ...

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

NSW ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

PERTH Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

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

UPS UPS or ups may refer to: Companies and organizations * United Parcel Service, an American shipping company ** The UPS Store, UPS subsidiary ** UPS Airlines, UPS subsidiary * Underground Press Syndicate, later ''Alternative Press Syndicate'' or ...

Filson Nunatak Filson Nunatak () is a small nunatak east of Trost Peak in the eastern part of the Framnes Mountains, Mac. Robertson Land, Antarctica. It was photographed from Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) aircraft in 1958 and seen by ...

in Antarctica is named in his honour, as is the lichen genus ''

Filsoniana ''Filsoniana'' is a genus of squamulose lichens in the family Teloschistaceae. It has six species. It was circumscribed in 2013 by Ingvar Kärnefelt, Arne Thell, Jae-Seoun Hur, Sergey Kondratyuk, and John Elix following a molecular phylogeneti ...

''.

Standard author abbreviation

Selected taxa

An advanced search of the

Mycobank database MycoBank is an online database, documenting new mycological names and combinations, eventually combined with descriptions and illustrations. It is run by the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute in Utrecht. Each novelty, after being screened ...

shows that he authored some 90 fungi, including: * ''

Buellia foecunda ''Buellia foecunda'' is a lichen in the family Caliciaceae. It was first described in 1966 by Rex Filson from a specimen found on rocks in Mac. Robertson Land Mac. Robertson Land is the portion of Antarctica lying southward of the coast bet ...

'' Filson * ''Heterodea beaugleholei'' Filson (now ''

Cladia beaugleholei ''Cladia beaugleholei'' is a lichen in the family Cladoniaceae, found in Australia. It was first described as ''Heterodea beaugleholei'' in 1978 by Rex Filson, from a specimen collected from forest soil in New South Wales. The species epithet ...

'') *''

Xanthoparmelia elixii ''Xanthoparmelia elixii'' is a lichen in the family Parmeliaceae, and found in South Australia. It was first formally described in 1984 by Rex Filson, and the species epithet ''elixii'' honours the Australian chemist and lichenologist John A ...

'' Filson

References

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