#bontany

Cora glabrata

Coming back from my brief hiatus with a heavy-hitter I’ve been putting off featuring for just the right moment. And here they are, the one and only, Cora glabrata. Which I say with irony, as recent genetic analysis revealed that what was once considered 1 or maybe 2 species (Dictyonema glabratum) was revealed to actually be hundreds of distinct species! C. glabrata is a Basidiolichen, meaning that it comes form the same evolutionary line as other basidiomycete (classic mushroom) fungus, but has evolved a lichenized lifestyle in the same way “typical” ascomycete lichens have. Lichenization is so cool that everyone is getting into it! This is largely the reason for C. glabrata looks so distinct--more like a typical saprotrophic polypore than a lichen. It has a concentrically lined, glossy, blue-green upper surface, and a slightly darker lower surface. It typically grows on moss, soil or wood, in tropical locations. And y’all, research into this lichen/lichen group is currently ongoing, so the info I reported here, and the pictures, might not even be the *most* correct. I can’t even begin to summarize and pick through all the info out there on the Cora and Dictyonema genra--there is just waayyy too much. So consider this your very brief introduction to this spectacular basidiolichen complex, and feel free to learn more on the info sources linked below. Take as deep a dive as you like. The water is fine in the land of lichenology! 

images: source | source | source | source

My girlfriend designed another little doll for Megacon and potentially an online store. Just sharing this to promote it and potentially drum up some hype. I drew some art to go with her, she’s a little mushroom lady, based on a fly agaric mushroom.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JugglingDino

T-shirts: https://www.teepublic.com/user/jugglingdino

I was getting rid of a bunch of stuff from my wedding to my ex recently, and I found this card that his mother had written to me. It said, “Bloom Where You Are Planted.” I laughed, because, well, clearly I completely failed at that suggestion. 

But I also think the card was shit advice. 

Often we have to leave where we were planted to find a community that can care for and support us in the ways we need, especially for those of us who are queer, trans, or gender non-conforming. 

Pannaria conoplea

What a fashionable color! (note: I get all my fashion tips from lichens)This squamulose-foliose lichen forms irregular or rounded patches up to 3 cm in diameter. The center is mad up of overlapping scales, and the edges are made up of overlapping, fan-shaped lobes. The lobe margins are covered in isidia-like lobules, giving the surface a fuzzy, rugose texture. The upper surface coloration is blue gray to ashy gray. The apothecia are rare, and have soredia around the margin, and a brown disc. P. conoplea grows in cool and temperate regions on mossy rocks and bark.

Psora nipponica

Butterfly Scale Lichen

I am ready for spring, y’all. This winter has been cold and dreary and the world is in shambles and I just want to go outside and sit in the sun and listen to the birds and feel the soft breeze . . . but we’re not there yet. So to lighten up the mood, here is a springy lichen for us all to enjoy: P. nopponica! The butterfly scale lichen! This squamulose lichen forms elongated, concave lobes up to 10 mm wide. The upper surface of the lobes can be smooth or fissured, and comes in olive, russet, tan, or brown, whereas the lower surface and lobe margins are pale tan to white. Tucked in between the folded lobes are the spherical, black apothecia clumped together in lil bunches. P. nipponica is found in western North America Eastern Asia. It colonizes shady soil or rock crevices at high elevations between 1380 and 3540 m. To high up for me to hike to at the moment, but come the nice weather and you’ll find me out there saying high to all the bright little lichen friends like P. nipponica! 

keep it close.....

okay now watch

makes it grow magically and it sprouts prettty flowers

WOAH! Thanks for the flowers! We got rid of the bacteria, so I'll FOR SURE set these in my room, as these are very pretty.