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In 1989, Canada Post issued a set of four commemorative stamps celebrating a distinctly natural theme, Mushrooms. The series features four edible species found across Canada: Admirable Boletus, Common Morel, Cinnabar Chanterelle, and Spindle Coral.

Released as a se-tenant block, the stamps reflected Canada Post’s ongoing commitment to nature-based subjects, coinciding with that summer’s conventions of both the Mycological Society of America and the American Institute of Biological Sciences, held in Toronto. A thematic stamp pack accompanied the release.

Montréal graphic designer Ernst Roch was commissioned to create the series. His approach combined scientific clarity with artistic restraint — each specimen rendered in precise gouache paintings, positioned against richly coloured, untextured backgrounds. The compositions are elegantly balanced, with the mushrooms identified by their Latin species names, underscoring both the aesthetic and educational intent of the issue.

In a fitting echo of this earlier work, Canada Post returned to the theme in 2025, issuing a new series of four mushroom stamps — a contemporary continuation of its long-standing celebration of Canada’s natural world through design.

Although Canada Modern primarily documents work from 1960–1985, there are occasions where design created beyond those years so clearly reflects the ideals of that period that it warrants inclusion. This is one such example.

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