Stamp of Approval (update)

In an entry from earlier this month I noted that the US Postal Service doesn't have a great history of glorifying our beloved mushrooms on its postage stamps. It seems there have been a grand total of four. Compare this to say, Paraguay, which has at least 14.

So which four mushrooms have been honored? Well none actually. All of the mushrooms listed are in the background/foreground of other wildlife focuses. The Eastern Chipmunk stamp (right) seems to have a couple of Russulas or maybe Gymnopilus growing from the forest floor. The Red Fox stamp (left) includes what looks like Trametes and an orangey polypore.

And that's as good as it gets. The other two are but yellowy, orangey splotches scattered on rocks which are more likely lichens. Those would include the Mountain Goat stamp, and the Pika stamp.

The two sites you should visit if you'd like to get further info on mushroom stamps are The Puffball, a great site that has collected all the mushroom stamps (though it doesn't appear it's been updated in some time - so there may even be more!) and Jim's Stamp Album, the kind of site you spend hours poking around in. (The stamp photos came from there as well.)

So there you have it. It seems the US could use a little nudge in this area to bring the proper attention to mushrooms that they deserve. If you know of any others, leave a note in the comments!