Rex Bertram Filson


Rex Bertram Filson is an Australian lichenologist who made major contributions to knowledge of lichens in Australia and Antarctica.
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]. 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, first as a seed-collector and finally as senior botanist. During this period, he acquired a Master of Science and a Doctor of Science from Monash University. In 1970, Filson was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to compare northern hemisphere with Australian lichens.
The National Herbarium of Victoria holds the majority of Filson's collections, over 15,000 specimens, with duplicates distributed around Australian Herbaria including AD, BRI, CANB, HO, National Herbarium of [New South Wales|NSW] and PERTH, with several in overseas herbaria such s National [Academy of Sciences of Belarus|MSK], GZU, F and UPS. In 1975, Filson edited the exsiccata Lichenes Antarctici exsiccati.
Filson Nunatak in Antarctica is named in his honour, as are the lichen genera Filsoniana and Rexiella.

Selected taxa

An advanced search of the Mycobank database shows that he authored some 90 fungi, including: