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.
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Rhizocarpon Geographicum, Map Lichen
Day 305: The complex of lichens which includes Rhizocarpon geographicum has been the subject of much debate. The "lumpers" of the scientific community lobby toward grouping the yellow-green "maps" into a smaller number of species based on distinct morphological differences (including some which require a microscope to determine) while the "splitters" lean toward separating them by the substances (chemicals) they contain. The latter method takes these colourful crustose species into a pit so deep that the average lichen enthusiast is inclined to throw up their hands in defeat, all hope of making a firm identification lost. How finely do we want to parse it? Is "splitting" necessary taxonomically, or is it something which should be a footnote to the lab analysis? In this case, I'm with the lumpers. Lichens are fascinating, so let's keep them approachable.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment