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.
Thursday, June 22, 2017
A Fungus With Eyelashes
Day 252: When I find a species which baffles me, I will refer it out to an expert for help, but my personal quest for its identity doesn't stop there. I continue searching, and in this case, I was able to identify Scutellinia scutellata before Katherine Glew could write back to me to say that it wasn't a lichen. You could have fooled me. In fact, it did fool me, and that's why I sent the photos off to her. She's a lichenologist. The problem is, Scutellinia scutellata isn't a lichen at all. It's a fungus...a fungus with eyelashes.
According to several references, it's not uncommon in the Pacific Northwest. It is a subalpine species, and erupts in the spring. It first appears as tiny round "buttons" which, as they mature, open out into flattish orange disks with golden-brown "eyelashes" around their rims. The backs of the disks show a sparse population of short, stiff hairs. Various field markers allow it to be distinguished from other members of the genus: eyelash length, substrate and when viewed under the microscope, spore characteristics. The largest specimen shown in this grouping had a diameter of 6 mm., but they can be as large as 10 mm. Commonly referred to under the uninspired designation "Eyelash Cup," it is also known by the charming name of "Molly Eye-Winker."
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