Gunnar Bror Fritiof Degelius

Gunnar Bror Fritiof Degelius (né Nilsson until 1932; 27 January 1903 – 22 July 1993) was a Swedish lichenologist. Between the publications of his first and final scientific papers, Degelius had a 70-year-long research career. While he was best known for his expertise on the lichen genus Collema, he also wrote important papers on lichen biology and ecology, floristic studies of the Nordic countries and various other areas around the world, and lichen succession. Degelius described 124 new taxa (mostly species), and published about 130 scientific papers. In 1992 he was one of the first to be awarded the Acharius Medal for his lifetime contributions to lichenology. Fifteen species and three genera have been named in honour of Degelius.

Early life and education

Born in Uppsala on 27 January 1903, Degelius spent much of his youth in Mariestad. He was introduced to botany at an early age by his father, Bror Nilsson, who was a pharmacist. By the age of six, Gunnar had a sizeable collection of seed plants,