#ibrakeforlichens

A NEW JERSEY LOVE STORY

I’m so, so lucky. I realize this more and more every day. A couple weeks ago I got the opportunity to travel to the New York Botanical Garden to collect some tissue from NYBG’s vast collections of Cladonia. I had never been to New York City (‘you can just say New York...’) before, but I actually loved it. So much ENERGY! So much FOOD! So much HISTORY! I love the remote forests of the world, but I gotta admit the truth: I also looooove cities. 

Apart from working in the herbarium, I got to hang with my unbelievably talented co-advisor while he took me and a colleague to the Pine Barrens in New Jersey. It was cold, it was sunny, there was much skipping, there was much lichenizing. Apparently the devil lives in those woods but we didn’t see him. Then we drove back to the city and got some oysters and martinis and wine. Yep, lucky. Here’s some love from that beautiful pine forest.

PICTURES (top to bottom):

1. AWWWWW IT’S A HEART! What a gorgeous loaf of Cladonia subtenuis. I’m trying to call these loaves to everyone so that it becomes the proper terminology for a group of Cladonia.

2. Everyone loves an earth star. These are some Geastrum; I know almost nothing about that genus so if anyone knows the species, feel free to comment!

3. My coadvisor is a master at seeking out teeny tiny pin lichens...these things are about a millimeter tall. You have to know where to look.

4. Here’s a close-up...see the teeny stalks and round tops? These are a species of Calicium.

5. How can anything be so weird and beautiful? This is Cladonia rappii, my favorite find of the day. We couldn’t find them for a while, but once you have them in your eyes, you suddenly see them everywhere.

6. This was supposed to be a sort-of professional picture for my website, but it turned out quite romantic and glamour-shot-y. The lichen and I look like we’re moving in for the big kiss that the audience has been waiting for.