Monday, March 4, 2013

Lovely Lichen

It was cold and windy today (and not particularly spring-like), and all of the creatures I saw on my walk this afternoon stayed too far away for pictures. Lichen, however, doesn't move, and once I started noticing it on the trees, I saw it everywhere, and in so many colors and patterns! Here's my favorite lichen-y sight of the day, like someone splashed generous amounts of neon paint on this tree:
 

It occurred to me to try to identify some of these lichens (it looks like there are at least three different species here), but as it turns out, there are a lot of lichens in our area, and no clear identification resources (that I can find) online. Maybe someday I'll learn to identify lichens, but I'll just have to settle for the much simpler process of admiration for now. :)

2 comments:

  1. I once went on a field trip to observe and learn about lichens and couldn't believe how many different kinds we saw (there are thousands of species around the world). I came away impressed with the many forms they take and the variety of habitats in which they grow.

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  2. Lichens of the North Woods by Joe Walewski is a good lichen field guide.

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