On June 16, 2011, the U.S. Postal Service issued a first-class stamp honoring botanist Asa Gray. A Harvard natural history professor, Gray also established academic instruction during the summer at Harvard, beginning in 1871, with the Summer School of Botany.

Part of the USPS American Scientist series, the Asa Gray stamp image collage depicts Gray in a circa-1860 photograph; illustrations of plants studied by Gray (Shortia galacifolia and Aesculus discolor); Gray's signature, from an 1855 letter to naturalist Spencer F. Baird; the words "Shortia galacifolia" in Gray's handwriting; and his printed abbreviation of the title of his work Synoptical Flora of North America.

The story of Gray's epic quest for Shortia galacifolia was told in a 1946 article from Arnoldia, the quarterly magazine of the Arnold Arboretum. Download that article.

Read more about the stamp release in the Harvard Gazette.