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.
Friday, January 25, 2019
Exploring For Usneas
Day 104: I set out on the Bud Blancher Trail with no particular purpose in mind other than clearing my lungs of the last vestiges of a cold, but of course no walk or hike is ever taken without some tidbit of nature drawing my interest. I'd just crossed the first bridge when a small clump of pendulous lichen caught my eye. I don't know why I took a closer look, because I had already given it an initial dismissal as an Alectoria, but as I lifted it, I noticed fibrils perpendicular to the main branch. "Waitaminit," I said aloud to no one in particular, "that's an Usnea!" Sure enough, when I stretched it lightly, the cortex split, revealing the axial "spinal column" typical of the genus (inset). This unexpected discovery set the tone for the rest of the hike. How many Usneas could I find?
Not having an authoritative guide to Usneas on hand, I am reluctant to make any firm identifications here. According to lichenologist Bruce McCune, the group collectively called "Usnea filipendula" has not been strictly divided taxonomically. He goes on to state, "...local material also seems to intergrade with U. scabrata and U. scabiosa. Until the taxonomy of this group is worked out more clearly, it seems futile to try to apply these names." Suffice to say that the five specimens I collected were sufficiently different morphologically that I knew them to be separate from each other. Other specimens found during my hike showed a confusing admixture of characteristics, "a little o' dis, a little o' dat."
Labels:
Bud Blancher Trail,
Eatonville,
Usneas
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