365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Icmadophila Ericetorum, Spray-Paint Lichen
Day 110: Invariably when the subject of lichens arises, someone will take me to task for my pronunciation of the word. Y'see, I say "litch-en" to rhyme with "itchin'" rather than "like-en," which to me is something done with careless abandon on Facebook. Webster's Third New International Dictionary (my bible) supports my usage, although admittedly it adds "chiefly British" by way of justification. It's not the only word in my vocabulary which has been influenced by proximity to Canada, but it is probably the most deeply entrenched. I've recently started countering the teasing with a riposte: "Quitcherbitchin' and call it 'litchen.'" Of course if you prefer, you could always stammer your way through the Latin names of these fascinating life forms instead. Let's start off with Icmadophila ericetorum, aka "spray-paint lichen" or "candy lichen."
Labels:
Candy Lichen,
Icmadophila ericetorum,
lichen,
pronunciation,
Spray Paint,
T Woods
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