#lichenologists

Normandina acroglypta 

Normandina is a small genus of lichen, only containing 4 known species at this time. But considering the inconspicuous appearance of N. acroglypta, it wouldn't suRprise me if other species are out there basically hiding in plain site! This crustose/minutely squamulose lichen grows amongst bryophytes on acidic tree bark and siliceous rock in humid, shady forested regions of Europe. It has an uneven, granular, gray-green thallus often covered in thick layers of yellow-green soredia. These structures are difficult to differentiate, so just trust that this little due is grainy. N. acroglypta produces black perithecia (globose fruiting bodies with a small, pore-like opening) which are partially immersed in the thallus.

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Bacidia arceutina

So I talk about apothecia a lot, but what exactly are apothecia? They are the fruiting bodies of the fungal constituent of lichens. They produce spores in internal sac-like structures called asci (singular ascus), and are typically cup, disc, or dome shaped. B. arceutina here has pale brown to brown-black apothecia which have a concolorous margin (the ridge surrounding the disk) and a flat disc when young, but become for bulbous and dome-shaped with age, often losing the marginal edge. Here is a cross section of a B. arceutina apothecium:

See all those little tube-y structures near the top? Those are the asci, and they are full of long, linear spores that look like this:

Spores like this aren't typical for all lichens, but are for lichens in the Bacidia genus.

I love them. So strange. These spores are sexually produced and ONLY contain the genetic material for the fungal constituent of the lichen, and not the photobiont constituent. So these microscopic spores, when dispersed, have to form a partnership with a Chlorphycea algae (one of my faves, TBH) if it wants to grow and thrive. So good luck out there, you tiny, wormy B. arceutina spores! I hope you can find purchase and partnership on the nutrient-rich, basic bark of trees and shrubs you prefer.

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Melanelia stygia

Stygian black-parmelia, alpine camouflage lichen, durable rockleather lichen, melanelia lichen

We're now into the spooky month, so here is a nice spooky lichen for you--M. stygia. For those who don't know, "stygia" comes from the Greek for the river Styx, the mythological river separating the earth and the underworld. Dead souls were ferried across it to Hades, and the further down the river they were carried, the worse their punishment would be. And because it was very dark in color, and flowed to Hades, things that are also very dark, dismal, or murky are said to be of the river Styx, or stygian. And what is more spooky than a lichen so dark in color that it gets named for a river which flows to the land of the dead?

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Lecanora chlarotera

In German, this lichen is known as Helle Kuchenflechte–light cake lichen. If picturing these little apothecia as tiny little cakes doesn’t make you happy, I don’t know what will. 

Calvitimela talayana

You may think to yourself, how hard could it be to study lichens? They’re everywhere, they don’t move, they’re often brightly colored or conspicuous. We must know pretty much everything about them, right? WRONG! For example, we thought for a long time that C. talayana only grew in Siberia, but a recent study published in 2009 extended its range into northwestern Canada and and and, wait for it, VIRGINIA. Like, that’s a big, weird, disjointed jump! Some botanists just happened to come across it in Shenandoah National Park and were like, WTF are you? They sent it off to the Canadian Museum of Nature which has experience with Arctic lichen species and dingdingding, we have an ID! Weird right? This crustose lichen forms an areolate (growing in patches/islands) thallus made up of convex, blister like patches of pale yellow or yellow-green, surrounded in a wrinkled, black prothallus. The edges of the areoles (patches) are often covered in mounds of granular, black to gray-green to yellow-green soredia. Apothecia are rare, and when present are small, sunken black discs in the thallus surface, and are difficult to distinguish from the pycnidia. C. talayana grows on siliceous rock in Arctic-alpine environments. What other places is this lichen hiding in, hmm? Who wants to go climb a bunch of mountains and look with me? No? That’s fine, more for me. 

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Ocellularia sanfordiana

Teloschistes peruensis

Peruvian orange-bush lichen,  liquen anaranjado arbustivo de la Atacama

Are these pictures from an alien planet??? Nope! This is on our own wonderful planet Earth! These are pictures of T. peruensis in Lomas Amara, Peru from 1 of the 2 (yes 2) extant populations! The other population is located in the Pan de Azucar National Park in Chile. It can be found in pampas desert habitats, where it grows in large, entangled, shrubby colonies up to 40 cm across, and 8 cm tall. The thallus surface is bright Cheeto-dust orange, smooth, and dull across the intricate branches with long, tapering cilia. It gets its moisture from fog banks which roll across the desert sand from the nearby coast, and grows concurrently with other fog-reliant species like Tillandsia (air plants). The world is full of unique species and habitats which all deserve our acknowledgement, love, and protection. If you want to help with the conservation of rare and endangered lichens in South America like this one, I suggest donating to this GoFundMe for Latin American Lichenologists! 

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Peltigera rufescens

Field dog lichen