Day 251: If you are a follower of my posts, you've heard me mention on several occasions that common names for many lichens must have been inspired by chemical substances having nothing to do with lichen composition. Here are a few drawn straight from Brodo: Pink-eyed Shingle, Blistered Script, Punctured Rock Tripe, Tar Jelly, Varnished Tube. I suspect there was more than one six-pack involved with those names, maybe a wee drap of single-malt or demon rum. This crustose species occurs on siliceous rock in exposed areas. Its rust-coloured thallus is quite eye-catching. Wouldn't you have thought that Lecidea lapicida deserved a more distinctive appellation than the grossly uninventive Grey-Orange Disk? "Burnt Chili" comes immediately to mind, or perhaps "Devil's Beauty Spots." No, they settled on Grey-Orange Disk instead. It must have been a really dull party.
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