Taiwan FDC on "Wild Mushrooms of Taiwan (II)"

First Day Cover
首日封
Sobrescrito de 1.º Dia

Taiwan

Wild Mushrooms of Taiwan (II)

Date of Issue : 23 March 2012

Four species of mushroom found at mid-altitudes are featured. The designs follow:

Amanita rubrovolvata (NT$5): The mushroom has an orange to red cap (pileus). Convex when it first appears, the cap gradually flattens as it matures. The cap’s surface is covered with fuzz and scales, and its margin is grooved. The mushroom’s central stem (stipe) is cream to pale orange-yellow in color and covered with powdery scales. The stem has a ring (annulus) on its upper half and a large basal bulb. It can often be found in mixed forests at mid-altitudes. This mushroom is poisonous.

Entoloma murraii (NT$5): The mushroom has a pale to bright yellow conical cap and a bright yellow cylindrical stem. The stem, either solid or hollow, is central and supports the cap in the middle. This small, soft, bright yellow mushroom is very eye-catching. It can often be found in forests in low to mid-altitude areas during summer and fall. It is not clear whether it is poisonous.

Geastrum sessile (NT$12): The mushroom has a ball-shaped fruiting body. At maturity, the outer layer of the fruiting body splits open to create a star-like effect, revealing the sporangium within. The brown sporangium has a smooth surface with a mouth at the apex. The area around the mouth is grooved. The spores are dispersed from this opening when mature. This mushroom can often be seen in broadleaf forests at mid-altitudes. Its spores have anti-inflammatory properties.

Clavulinopsis miyabeana (NT$12): At first, the fruiting body of this mushroom resembles a red or pink smooth cylinder. By maturity, the fruiting body has become a sharp spindle with a paler tip. It can often be found in clumps among fallen leaves in coniferous or broadleaf forests at mid-altitudes during summer and fall. At first glance, the mushroom, with its bright orange-red, flat and stick-like body, resembles a flame on the forest ground.

This set of stamps is planned by Lin Zichao, research assistant on mushrooms at the Endemic Species Research Institute of the Executive Yuan’s Council of Agriculture, painted by ecological painter Chi-jen Lai, and printed by China Color Printing Co., Ltd. in color offset.