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.
Saturday, March 18, 2023
Graphic Script
Day 156: We all have our favourites. They don't have to be rare, special or otherwise distinguished. We just like them for one reason or another. Graphis scripta (Common Script) is one of my favourite lichens. It's tiny to the point of being hard to spot even when you have your face a foot from the trunk of a Red Alder you know you've found it on before, so it should be no surprise that the people who walked past me as I was crouched on my knees photographing it wondered what I found so fascinating about grey bark. It looks exactly like marks made with a sharp pencil until you get closer. Then you can see that the black lines are split lengthwise. These are the lirellae, the fruiting bodies of the lichen. The thallus (body) is what makes the bark look grey where it occurs. Other crustose lichens may also impart a grey appearance to the bark of Red Alder, so if you're hunting for secret messages from Lichenopolis, you'll have to make a close examination to find the code.
Labels:
Bud Blancher Trail,
Graphis scripta,
Script Lichen
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