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, March 7, 2015
Stereocaulon Paschale, Easter Lichen
Day 145: Before you ask, I do not know why Stereocaulon paschale is called "Easter Lichen." It is one of approximately half a dozen "foam" lichens which can be found in the Pacific Northwest, and most of the others have the word "foam" in their common names: Woolly Foam, Rock Foam, Snow Foam. Easter Lichen isn't quite as "foamy" as the others, so perhaps that's why the word was omitted from its nomenclature. The woody, tough stalks of Stereocaulon paschale are often only sparsely covered by the fuzzy tomentum which is a primary characteristic of the family of Stereocaulons, and when this lichen colonizes on soil or mossy rocks, it does so abundantly. This specimen was found on the Kautz Creek trail.
Labels:
Easter Lichen,
foam lichen,
Kautz Creek,
MORA,
Stereocaulon paschale
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