There's Gold On Them Thar Trees

Day 106: "There's gold on them thar trees!" Yes, and not just on the north side, scout. Sorry to disappoint, but that's a myth, and one I've never been able to understand. Lichens and mosses grow on the MOIST side of trees, and as anybody who lives in the Pacific Northwest can attest, sometimes that means all the way around. That said, a walk through our conifer forests will often cause an observer to comment on trees crusted with Chrysothrix candelaris, Mother Nature's version of tagging trees with her yellow-gold "spray paint." Commonly called "Gold-Dust Lichen," one of its most popular substrates is the thick bark of Douglas fir. Some experts claim that it can be differentiated from other Chrysothrix species by granule size when they occur in the same region (a contentious subject), but here in the PNW, it's a pretty safe bet to call any gold-bearing seams on Doug fir by the name C. chrysothrix.