Whitetail deer know if they are to survive in the winter they need to follow the sun and stay on warm, south eastward facing slopes during the day. Not only is it warmer in these places, but the abundant sunshine often means quicker snow melt and plenty of browse. Quite often in winter I follow their lead and on this day I walked along an old stone wall where the overhanging white pines and eastern hemlocks made for light snow cover and the bright sunshine meant it was considerably warmer.
But sunshine and warmth aren’t the only reasons I come here. Lichens and mosses grow on these stones by the thousands and this old wall has become one of my favorite places to hunt for them in winter. Many of the lichens are in their fruiting stage at this time of year, as the above example of a shingled rock shield lichen (Xanthoparmelia stenophylla) shows. The dark brown, cup shaped growths are the apothecia, or fruiting bodies. These lichens have been here probably for hundreds of years because they are quite large. I’ve seen some that were the size of grapefruit.
Rock Greenshield Lichens (Flavoparmelia baltimorensis) are also quite large and are very common along this stretch of stone wall. Most foliose lichens seem to prefer growing in the sunshine and these are no different. Foliose means “leaf like” but these lichens always remind me of melted candle wax. In fact there is a lichen known as the eastern candle wax lichen (Ahtiana aurescens), but it grows on tree limbs instead of stone and leans more towards gray than green.
I’m going into my third year of visiting this scattered rock posy lichen and if it has changed in that time the change is imperceptible. When I first found it, it was the only one I knew of but over the years I’ve found others. It likes to grow on granite in full sun and is one of the most beautiful lichens, in my opinion. This photo is the closest I’ve ever been able to get to it. The orange disc shaped growths are its fruiting bodies and the grayish, brain like growth is the thallus, or body. The entire lichen is about the size of a penny.
Lichens weren’t the only finds here on this day. This orange, crust like fungus is a parchment fungus called, not surprisingly, orange crust fungus (Stereum complicatum). It was growing a fallen branch. The complicatum part of the scientific name means “folded back on itself.” One of the identifying characteristics of this fungus is the smooth, pore free underside.
There were plenty of aster seed heads along the wall, waiting for hungry birds.
British soldier lichens (Cladonia cristatella) grew on an old rotting stump. This lichen was named by someone who thought they resembled the eighteenth century uniform of a British soldier. It’s very slow growing, and in a good year might grow 2 millimeters. The red parts of this lichen are where its spores are produced and, since they don’t make spores until they reach at least 4 years of age, I know this one has been here awhile. British soldiers and their cousins pixie cups are frutose lichens, which is a lichen that stands upright or hangs down.
Here and there in this wall there were holes drilled into the stone. In this case a steel rod was held in the hole by an old cut nail. The wire, I think, was probably used to fasten a strand or two of barbed wire to the rod. This gave the stone wall about 2 feet of extra height and probably helped keep the livestock in. Or out, if they had an enclosed vegetable garden.
In some cases the rods were gone. The quarter sized holes were most likely done by hand with a star drill and sledge hammer.
Hedwigia cillata moss looked good and healthy. This moss loves to grow on exposed surfaces like stones and cliff faces in sun or shade and is common all over the world. When dry this moss pulls its leaves in tight to the central stem and loses much of its bushy appearance. Its fruiting bodies (sporophytes) are orange but hide deep among the leaves on short stalks so they aren’t as easy to see as those on other mosses.
This boulder was covered with carpet mosses and lichens. In her book Gathering Moss author Robin Wall Kimmerer says that lichens pave the way for mosses on stones and other smooth surfaces. Lichens produce acids that slowly etch surfaces just enough to give rootless mosses enough of a purchase to anchor themselves to. The acids in lichens are powerful enough to etch even glass, and they have been known to damage stained glass in some of the great cathedrals of Europe. The yellow square in the above photo shows the area where the following macro photo of moss came from.
This is an extreme close-up of what I believe is brick carpet moss (Bryoerythrophyllum recurvirostrum). There are many different low growing moss species that form carpets and, in my experience, are very hard to identify. These mosses seem to grow in the harshest conditions like on boulders in full sun, but mosses are tough. Robin Wall Kimmerer notes that mosses held dry in herbarium cabinets for 40 years revived in just a few minutes after being given water.
Common goldspeck lichen (Candelariella vitellitta) is uncommonly beautiful. This bright yellow lichen grows on calcium free stones and the examples that I’ve found have always been quite small. This was the first time that I’ve seen this lichen fruiting. The apothecia or fruiting bodies are disc shaped and slightly darker in color than the granular body, and are so small that I can’t think of anything to compare them to. In fact, I didn’t even see them until I looked at the photo. This one was a real test of the macro capabilities of my camera-all that you see in this photo would easily fit on a dime with room to spare.
Golden moonglow lichen is another small but beautiful, greenish yellow squamulose lichen that grows on stone in full sun. The example in the photo grew on granite and was about the size of a penny, but I’ve seen them larger. This example had quite a lot of dark, disc shaped fruiting bodies showing in its center. A squamulose lichen falls somewhere between the leafy foliose lichens and crusty crustose lichens and has “squamules,” which in this case are the curled lobes around its outer edges.
There is no absolute scale of size in nature, and the small may be as important, or more so than the great. ~Oliver Heaviside
Note: I’m sorry that I don’t remember which of you told me about the Gathering Moss book, but I’d like to thank you for doing so. It’s a great book.
Thanks for coming by.
I just happened to read something a few mins ago about an interesting lichen at the UBC forums. Lichen’s always remind me of you so I came here to share the link in case you might like to see it! 🙂
Here’s the link: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/potd/2014/01/teloschistes-exilis.php
Thank you. That’s a beautiful lichen! They also have some excellent information on lichens-well worth adding to my favorite web sites.
You write “These lichens have been here probably for hundreds of years because they are quite large.” I wonder if they could be used for dating old stone walls and structures?
Thanks for the closeups of things just out the back door. It’s like Gulliver’s travels looking at things from such a different perspective.
Using lichens to date structures as you decribe is called Lichenometry and yes it is used quite often, from what I’ve read. The biggest problem I see is, what source do you use to find out how fast each lichen grows? It would help if there were an easily accessible spreadsheet somewhere that said “this lichen grows xx cm per year,” but there probably isn’t. In any case it’s a good question about a fascinating subject. If you’d like to read about Lichenometry there is a good paper on it here: http://www.primaryresearch.org/stonewalls/nylund/
I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog!
Thank you. I’ll look forward to learning more about lichenometry – today’s new word!
Very nice collection this time again! Some are familiar to me but most of these are not. It’s sure nice to see them!
Thanks Montucky! Some of these are so small you really have to hunt for them.
My guiding word for the year is appreciate. On every visit here I learn to do exactly that.
Thanks Grampy! The small, unseen things are worthy of our appreciation.
Great rocks to visit and great pictures taken when you got there.
Thanks!
You are the only person who makes lichens seem so compelling. I’m crazy about the scattered rock posy lichen!
I was hoping there was an army of us out there trying to get people interested in nature! The scattered rock posy is an especially beautiful one, but it’s very small.
Confessions from another blog reader – I got so interested in bryophytes from your pictures that I went out and bought a field guide. Always room for more learning and appreciation. By the way, your photographs above are quite good! Keep up the great work!!
Jamie
Thanks! That’s great Jamie, I’m glad to hear it. You’ll probably find as I did that they are a little more difficult to identify than wildflowers are but what I enjoy about them so much is how you can find them all winter long when there are no wildflowers to see. Before too long you’ll probably be wishing you had a microscope though, as I am!
I was the one who recommended Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer back in November, and I am so glad you enjoyed it (knew you would!). I just finished her latest book Braiding Sweetgrass, a much broader topic, but full of spot-on observations.
Good, now I can thank you “in person!” I enjoyed the book very much and just finished it the other day. The best part was, I learned a lot about mosses that I never knew, and that even moss identification books didn’t tell me. I’m going to have to look for her latest. It sounds like it would have a lot of Native American information in it, and that’s something I’m also interested in. Thanks again for the tip!
I didn’t realize lichens fruit in the winter. We’re so opposite — I’m not so detailed oriented … so your blogs teach me a lot!
I’m glad you’re learning something from this blog-I’ve learned plenty from yours as well. The colors and shapes are what got me interested in lichens. I’ve never been able to find out why they fruit in winter but I have read that some fruit almost year round.
Great shots!!!
Thank you Rexlin!
An interesting post showing us to keep our eyes open for all beauty no matter the season.. Amazing fact about the reviving of the 40 year old moss! Wondering if there are any medicinal goodness in these moss,lichen etc…no doubt someone has tried to find out.
Thank you. Yes, there’s no reason for us to hide inside all winter!
According to the Gathering Moss book there haven’t been any medical benefits found in mosses, but Native American used them for diapers, bandages-anywhere that absorption was required. Sphagnum moss will absorb many times it’s own weight in water and has been shown to be sterile enough to use as bandages.
Lichens have been shown to have amazing antibacterial properties, and they’re still used to make perfumes and dyes, especially in Scotland. Birds also use them for nesting materials and lots of insects for camoflage. Science has recently found that they also have interesting anti tumor abilities and that is being studied now. There’s no telling where that will lead.
You know, it’s all your fault that I bought a macro lens, I can’t see those small things well unless they’re blown up for me. 😉
Just joshing you, I love these posts, as I learn from every one of them, and your macro skills are excellent!
Thanks Jerry. are you saying your eyes are as old and tired as mine? I have a lot of trouble seeing some of these in person but when I see the photo it’s like looking at another world. One of the reasons I enjoy photography so much. I hope that new macro lens of yours gets a good workout!
Fortunately, I can still see very well at distances, but up close, I’m getting blind as a bat. If we ever get any sunshine around here, I hope to give the macro lens a thorough work out.
It sounds like our eyes are following the same path. I had mine checked a while ago and they said they were fine, but they aren’t the ones using them.
I know what you mean about no sun. The first day of what was supposed to be our big “January thaw” has turned out to be a miserable 35 degrees with pouring rain and even thunder, if you can believe it. Crazy weather!
Love the photo of the moon glow! You find such color and wonder in places most folks stomp right by. I learn something in every post. Thanks for the adventure, Alan.
Thanks Martha. The only “secret” is slowing down and taking a good look.
The moss and lichen really capture my imagination. I love the idea of tiny worlds al sot too small for us to see. My son has an attachment t for a macro lens on his iPhone, maybe I need to borrow it and investigate the lichen in my garden.
That’s a great idea. Once you start really seeing them you’ll see them everywhere you go. They’re such beautiful things-I think it’s worth the effort.
If he lets me borrow it of course
Of course he will-from what I’ve read on your blog he sounds like a good kid. I’d go right back to those beautiful yellow lichens you showed 2 or 3 posts ago if I were you.
Ohh, a great series, Allen! And, as always so informative. I LOVE that Rock Posy lichen! Beautiful! I also really like the Parchment Fungus and the British Soldier lichen. The Common Goldspeck lichen looks fascinating to me! Wonderful you picked up with your lens! A striking natural abstract.
Thanks Melanie. I’m hoping this post shows that you don’t have to sit inside in winter. As you know, there’s still a lot of amazing things out there to see! I loved the shot of ice you showed us this morning!
You could teach a course on this – oh you do, every time you write a post. I love attending your class. 🙂
Thank you Judy. I like to think that I just share what I find but if people learn that there is a lot of beauty and wonder out there for them to see from these posts, I’m happy.
Excellent post! As I may have eluded to in previous comments, for me it’s a window into an amazing undiscovered new world.
Thanks! I agree-there’s just so many beautiful and amazing things out there that we pass right by without knowing. I’m glad that posts like this help get people interested so they don’t miss any of it.
Awesome post and so much learned. Thanks for another pretty post! We have a huge buck taking up residence here of late with the snow and cold weather he was so close to the house looking for some warmth and a wind break I am sure.
Thanks! That’s great that you have a deer visiting. That’s something I’d really like to see!
🙂 he comes down close to the house in the evenings I am just glad he still feels safe here. He does hang around up where we do not plow and the sun warms it nicely when it shows up and the temps are not so horrid 🙂
He’s obviously a smart deer and I’m glad that he’s found a nice warm place to spend the winter. I hope he lets you take a few pictures of him!
You know I am trying to capture him 🙂 I have no windows on the north side of my home which is where he comes down into our property by way of an old cemetery. I have lots of berries on that side a wisteria that will not bloom anywhere I plant it lol and some alders, oaks and small fir trees he has been eating the buds off I am sure, too icy to climb slope but his stride is LARGE 🙂
If he’s that big and that old he’s also most likely very smart, so I’m sure getting photos of him will be tricky. Well worth it though!
Yes boyfriend has seen him when the dog and him come home from the store around 8 PM so maybe I will send them off with a camera he says as he drives down this long dark dirt road and he starts to turn in his headlights catch him 🙂 He calls him a monster I will grow some rows of corn for him to browse on this year 🙂
That’s going to be a well fed buck! I’m surprised he hasn’t ended up in someone’s freezer!
My land is posted now and so much behind me is in a conservations hands and I think the allow it but I have 3 acres he can hide in all along the river makes me wonder how the orchid I want to put in this spring will fair 🙂
That is a smart deer! I think I’d put some chicken wire around that orchid!
🙂
I can’t yet name all of these lichens and moss, but I am now aware of them, and that I call progress
I agree. I care less about the names than I do the fact that there are hidden worlds out there full of beauty, just waiting to be discovered. And anyone can discover them!
It’s amazing that your are able to see (and even more remarkably identify) all of these lichens and fungi. As I read through the posting, I identified those items that I might have noticed and the moss and aster heads are about all that I would have observed. These is a whole world out there that most of us miss–thanks for opening the door to it.
You’re welcome Mike. The good thing about mosses and lichens is they’re everywhere, so you don’t have to go far to find them. What you do have to do is learn how to see them and once you do that, you really start to see them everywhere you go. Identifying them, for me at least, is impossible without good reference guides and a good macro lens.
Very interesting and informative post. Your love of lichens and mosses really shows. I think it is odd that they produce the fruiting bodies in the cold weather. I love finding rocks covered in the carpet moss, I think it is so pretty!
Thanks Laura. I do love lichens and mosses, but I wish they were just a bit bigger and easier to see. I haven’t been able to find out why lichens fruit so often in winter, but that’s one of my top questions about them. When I find out, I’ll let you know!
Reading your blog is teaching me to look about me when I walk. Even in cities there are natural things to spot if one looks closely, thank you.
You’re welcome Susan. Mosses and lichens are great air quality indicators and refuse to grow where the air is polluted, so I hope you’re seeing plenty of both in London.