I’ve been finding a lot of lichens lately and since I did a lichen post last year, I thought I’d put them all in one post again. I know that not all readers of this blog are interested in lichens but I hope posts like this might show how beautiful and fascinating they are. They can be found at any time of year growing just about anywhere and that makes winter just a little more exciting for me.
I don’t have any way to identify lichens microscopically or chemically, so the lichens in this post have been identified visually with the aid of guide books.
Scattered rock posy lichen (Rhizoplaca subdiscrepans) is both beautiful and unusual with its brain like body (Thallus) and pale orange fruiting discs (Apothecia.) This one was growing on stone in full sun. It was very small-no bigger than a penny. Lichens are a good indicator of air quality, so if you see a lot of lichens where you live your air is of good quality. If you aren’t seeing them you might want to check into your local air quality.
Script Lichen (Graphis scripta) looks like someone took a pocket knife and stuck the tip into a powdery, grayish crustose lichen over and over again leaving small, dark slits. This one was about the size of a tennis ball and was growing on the bark of a maple tree near a stream. I’ve noticed through hunting lichens that many of them prefer high humidity and grow near lakes, ponds, and streams.
Smokey Eye Boulder Lichen (Porpidia albocaerulescens) is a crustose lichen, meaning it grows like a crust on the substrate, in this case stone. I showed this lichen in my last post and said that I wasn’t sure of my identification because of the blue color of the fruiting discs. Since then I’ve seen other pictures of this lichen with nearly the same blue color. I’m still going to re-visit this one on a sunny day though, because descriptions say these discs should be light to dark gray.
I first saw this bitter wart lichen (Pertusaria amara) several months ago and it has taken me that long to identify it. It resembles several lichens known as toad skin lichens but I’m convinced that it isn’t one of those. One sure way to identify it would be to chew a tiny bit but my lichen book says that if I did I would have a bitter taste in my mouth for a “long time,” so I don’t think I’m ready to go there. The bumpy, warty growths are part of the body (Thallus) and hide the fruiting bodies (Apothecia.)
I found this spotted camouflage lichen (Melanohalea olivacea) growing on a birch branch near a pond. It is a foliose lichen, meaning it looks leafy. The olive green color and tiny white spots (pseudocyphellae) that line the margins of some of the lobes and fruiting discs help to identify this one.
I’ve never seen poplar sunburst lichen (Xanthoria hasseana) growing on a poplar but I’ve found many growing on ornamental Bradford pear trees near a beaver pond. This is another foliose lichen and is very beautiful, in my opinion. These lichens like to grow on trees in open areas. This one was probably as long as an egg.
Fringed wrinkle lichen (Tuckermanopsis americana) is another common but beautiful foliose lichen. I see them growing mostly on birch branches near ponds. Like many lichens their color changes quite a lot when they dry out. They are dark brown when dry and on the greenish / lighter side when wet. You have to look carefully for lichens in trees. I’ve seen a tree covered with them standing next to a tree with none at all.
Cumberland rock shield lichen (Xanthoparmelia cumberlandia) likes to grow on boulders and that’s where I found this one. The body (Thallus) is described as being “yellow-green to sometimes bluish green.” I’m not seeing that but my color finding software is. Being color blind, I can’t disagree. The fruiting discs (Apothecia) are “cinnamon to dark brown.”
This is a close up of apothecia on a Cumberland rock shield lichen. Technically apothecia are “fungal reproductive structures, in which the fungus reproduces itself through the production of spores” This is not the only way that lichens reproduce, but it is common.
Sea Storm Lichen (Cetrelia chicitae-olivetorum) gets its common name from the way the lobes of the body (Thallus) undulate and have powdery or granular margins. These two attributes reminded whoever named the lichen of storm tossed ocean waves. This foliose lichen likes to grow on mossy rocks in shady places and that is exactly where this one grew.
Powdery Sunburst Lichen (Xanthomendoza ulophyllodes) was growing on a stone in a stone wall. This foliose lichen is easy to see, even when it’s small, because of its bright orange yellow color. This lichen really likes moisture and is often found growing near channels that carry water on stone or bark.
By stripping off the bonds of individuality the lichens have produced a world-conquering union. ~David Haskell in his book “The Forest Unseen”
I hope you’ll take a liking to lichens! Thanks for stopping in.
What a stunning collection of unusual images, an excellent reference for the gardener too! and what a lot of work to put this all together.. thank you.. c
Thank you. Lichens are kind of “other worldly,” which is one thing I like about them. Thanks for stopping in.
I have enjoyed visiting, i shall pop over again! c
I’ve been enjoying your blog for quite awhile now. I don’t say much but I’m there every day.
Really! Wow I had no idea, that is brilliant, I thought I had discovered you all by myself.. well thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day! c
You’re welcome!
I always enjoy seeing your photos of lichens and the descriptions. We have lots of them here but I don’t seem to have the patience to try to catalog them.
I know what you mean Montucky. It’s quite a job, but fun too as long as there isn’t any hurry.
Whenever I photograph a lichen, I come to your site to identify it.
It’s always best to double check, because I’ve been wrong before!
Stunning! I try to instill a love of the lichens in my college biology students with mixed success. How can you not love these organisms for both their beauty and their tenacity?
Thank you. I agree, it’s hard not to be bitten by the lichen bug. On the other hand, though I’m curious, there are parts of nature study that don’t do it for me, like microbiology or aerobiology. I guess we can’t all be interested in everything. There isn’t enough time!
You have found a really fine selection of lichens. I must practise looking harder as I walk about.
If I were you Mr. T, I’d head right back to that graveyard you showed us about 3 or 4 posts ago. It looked like the stone walls were covered with lichens.
Really, if we weren’t interested in lichens before reading your blog,
we would be after reading your blog!
Lichens are fascinating, and you identify them, which makes it more interesting!
Thanks so much.
I’m hoping that posts like this will get people interested in getting out there and looking around. I’m also hoping that someone lets me know if I’ve flubbed any IDs!
Intriguing life, Allen….
It has to be Scott-there’s no other way.
It’s so nice to see lichens we don’t have. They’re always so fascinating.
They really are. You might not have these same lichens but I’d bet that you have some beauties in your area.
I do like litchens, they are fascinating but I never see the variety you post. I’m sure its not a problem with the air quality so – it’s back to me – got to look harder.
Yes, they’re out there somewhere. Good places to look are on boulders, tree trunks and tree branches-especially near water. Some of them are very small though so you have to walk slowly and look closely. Once you find one or two of them you’ll suddenly see them everywhere.
It’s an amazing world that we live in! Thank you for helping to both explain it, and open our eyes to how much there is for us to see!
It really is amazing Jerry, and it seems like each time I go out there I see something even more amazing. But why am I telling you? You know exactly what I mean.
I have to agree with SmallHouseBigGarden. You are an excellent teacher, and I always enjoy learning things here.
I’ve never really seen myself as a teacher-more of a helper. I don’t suppose it matters as long as people are learning about, and getting interested in nature.
I love the variety of the colors and textures (and the fun, descriptive names) of the lichens. The photos themselves are remarkable, because of the care that you obviously took with depth of field and light. I have to imagine that many of these grow in areas of reduced light, which complicates any efforts to photograph them.
You’re right Mike, aome of these are challenging to photograph-not only because of the low light but also their sometimes tiny size. I’ve had to go back a few times to re-do some of the shots because they were so difficult to get. Depth of field is also tough to control when you are shooting something the size of a pea! But, it’s fun, educational and very rewarding for me, so what could be better? I’m glad you enjoyed them!
I greatly appreciate these lichen posts. I know so little about them and enjoy the education.
The textures and shapes are so incredibly complex! I especially like the poplar sunburst!
Thank you. I’m glad to hear that you like these kinds of posts because they are quite a lot of work! I hope you’ll find some lichens in your area so we can all see what you have. I’d have to say that the poplar sunburst is probably my favorite too.