Call 'Em "Fuzznias"

Day 141: Lichens in the genus Usnea are quite common in western Washington. Some, like Usnea longissima with its single graceful "Christmas garland" morphology, are easy to identify. Others fall into the category I like to call "fuzznias," so similar in outward appearance that it takes microscopic analysis to determine their species. They are often mistaken for mosses, so thickly do they grow on branches, and it is often and incorrectly assumed that they are killing trees. In fact, lichens such as the Usneas take hold on trees which are already stressed and dying, taking advantage of the weakened structure of the bark and wood. While different species of Usnea prefer different types of tree, multiple species of the genus often grow cheek-by-jowl. There may well be three or four species in this image.

Good Day For A Hike

Day 138: Good weather finally made an appearance here in the Pacific Northwest, and since I already had to make a trip to the library, I decided to take a walk on the Bud Blancher Trail. As walks go in my book, three miles wasn't much, although it was an improvement on sitting. I was able to set a good pace and only allowed myself to be distracted by lichens once I'd reached my goal of the Little Mashel bridge and was ready to turn around. I didn't want to leave Merry locked in the bathroom for too long, despite having made him as comfortable as possible with food, a kitty bed, toys and his litter box. He is coming to the conclusion that "library" is a swear-word when Mama tells him she has to be gone for a while. In any event, while at the bridge, I braved blackberry vines to reach the Graphis scripta tree, and a future post will show the lichen. It's always nice to visit old friends.

Juvenile Bald Eagle

 

Day 118: Let's get one thing straight right up front: I am not impressed by eagles. I know, yes, there was a time when we were worried about the survival of the species, but no longer. In fact, here in the Pacific Northwest they're fairly common. Today, walking along the Bud Blancher Trail in the snow, I saw half a dozen or so ranging from juveniles (above) to adults, lined up in the trees and ready to perform their duties as garbage collectors. They'll eat the salmon carcases which wash up on the banks of the river, and they're always here in numbers during spawning season. Another good place to find them is at the county dump, joining forces with simiilarly-minded gulls and pigeons to rummage through the trash. They are far from the "noble" distinction put on them by humans. We'd have been better served to make the national bird the turkey, as suggested by Ben Franklin. At least you can eat a turkey.

Polytrichum Juniperinum, Juniper Haircap Moss

Day 82: "Little trees." That's what I thought they were when I was very young. I spent a lot of my childhood in the woods, alone and unsupervised, with only the injunction that I be home before dark. Childhood was very different in those days, and if I am grateful for any part of my life, it is for that. My love of botany grew from such things as these "little trees," which I later learned were a moss. Which moss they were has eluded me until now. Mosses are not easy to identify, but you would think that one this common might be featured on the cover of any guide to mosses of the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case, and I had only been able to determine that it was some kind of "haircap," not conversant with the very specialized vocabulary surrounding bryophytes. Finally, with the aid of a glossary and a few reliable, authoritative websites, I have decided that it is Polytrichum juniperinum, Juniper Haircap Moss. I could be wrong, but at this stage of my life, that's just gonna have to do.

Seasonal Blahs

Day 71: The seasonal Blahs have come on in a massive wave, at least along a 100-foot stretch of the Bud Blancher Trail in Eatonville. I have never seen them in such abundance as where they blanketed a section of the embankment, erupting from the moss in large clusters similar to this one, and spaced only six inches to a foot apart over a three-foot width of ground. Were they stimulated by an increase in light exposure due to the cutting back of brush? And why just that one area? And why so MANY? Ramaria acrisiccescens, aka "Blah Coral," is arguably one of our most common coral fungi, its pale tendrils emerging in the cooler months of late autumn and winter. It is often found in association with Hemlock. Why "Blah?" The jury is out as to its edibility, but it has been reported to be tasteless and insipid by those who have tried it.

Woolly Mullein, Verbascum Thapsus

Day 333: I tend to think of Mullein (Woolly, Common or Great all being synonyms for Verbascum thapsus) as a plant of the southwest Washington prairies where it is commonly seen along roadsides. I also tend to think of it as being my height or taller, so when I spotted this foot-tall, compact specimen adjacent to the Bud Blancher Trail in Eatonville, I had reason to look more closely. Yeah, it was a Mullein. Seriously, not much else resembles Mullein, so I really didn't doubt my identification, but it was in an odd spot and it was certainly runty compared to its relatives down in Flatland. Although I have never made tea from the leaves or flowers, Mullein is a time-honoured medicinal for ailments of the respiratory tract. Nevertheless, it should be used with caution since it can affect the kidneys. Seeds should never be used. Of more pertinent interest to weavers and spinners, the flowers can be used to produce yellow, brown or green dyes, depending on which mordanting agent is used. Now that's something I might just have to try!

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.

St. Paddy's Day Hike

Day 155: St. Paddy's Day dawned clear and crisp, and matured into pleasant temps by 10 AM. It's been months since I took any serious exercise, so I decided to go for a hike on the Bud Blancher Trail in Eatonville. Where exactly I was going to wind up, I had no idea, although I did want to check out the one spot along the trail where I've occasionally seen Skunk Cabbage. It wasn't blooming yet, so I went up a spur trail a little ways, finding that it didn't seem as familiar as it should have done. Was it because there were a few small trees down? I didn't think so. The lay of the land was foreign to me, and I have a very good memory for those kinds of details even if I can't tell you if a friend of forty years wears glasses. The trail took a sudden jog to the west, and I was even more convinced that I'd never been on it before. I followed it until it came out on a grassy secondary road. I definitely didn't recognize the intersection. How had I missed this one all these years? I kept heading west and connected with the familiar 1000 Rd. after about 3/4 mile. Not wanting to backtrack, I looped down past the Upper, Middle and Lower Mashel Falls trails without bothering to detour to the falls themselves (too many people), taking great joy in conversation with this chatty brooklet as it wound its way down to the Mashel mainstream. Out and about in the green! St. Pat would have loved Washington's forests.

Tolmiea Menziesii, Piggyback Plant

Day 175: The unique climate of the Pacific Northwest provides an ideal home for a number of plant genera which are found naturally nowhere else in the world. Among them are Tolmiea menziesii and T. diplomenziesii, the latter being the form found more commonly in Oregon and California. This intriguing plant has foliage which resembles that of Heuchera (Coralbells) superficially, but older leaves often exhibit a feature which supplies the logical and distinguishing common names "Piggyback Plant" and "Youth-on-age." Smaller plantlets ("daughters") develop from the petiole, thence to detach and take root where they fall. Tolmiea is also propagated and/or marketed as a houseplant, a factor which has led to its spread into other parts of the world. As far as I know, it is not considered an invasive in any of the areas where it has been released into the wild by unwitting gardeners, but this practice has led to the introduction of many invasives to areas where no natural controls exist. Please think twice before you bring a non-native plant home from your out-of-state vacation.

Lichenomphalia Umbellifera

Day 169: Lichenomphalia umbellifera fruits largely on decaying wood, inclining the casual lichenophile to dismiss it as an LBM ("little brown mushroom"), and although its finely grained, thin thallus is frequently concealed beneath mosses or other lichens as in the photo on the left, its dark pea-green colour is a clue to this species' true identity (immediately behind the fungus in the righthand image). It is one of very few lichens which exhibits a "mushroom" when it is in fruit, i.e., it is a basidiomycete as opposed to an ascomycete.

"There she goes again," you say, "using those big words. They scare me." Okay, let's break this down. Both fungi and lichens produce spores in specialized structures. Fungal spores are contained in basidia (singular, basidium). On the other hand, most lichen spores come from a similar structure known as an ascus (plural, asci). In the case of Lichenomphalia umbellifera, it reproduces like a fungus, but in its greater aspect, it has all the earmarks of being a lichen.

The fungal body emerges as a warm tan umbrella-shaped cap on a slender stipe. These age to white quite quickly, and turn up at the edges, the better to disperse the spores. They are fairly common in the Pacific Northwest.

Purloined Snowdrops

Day 103: My walk on the Bud Blancher Trail a few days back was multi-purpose. I needed photographic material for posts. I needed to get Out. And I wanted to see if the Snowdrops had come through the ground in my secret spot. I had a cunning plan which involved a small plastic bag and a well-worn trowel, items which have served me in good stead many times over, including previously at my target location. I'm not quite sure who owns the property. At least one of the locals uses it for a post-hunt bone dump, although it seems to be on the boundary of Pack Forest. In any event, the Snowdrops are not native. However they managed to establish up an abandoned and overgrown path is anyone's guess, but apparently they've been there for years. They are quite well entrenched, the bulbs often buried deeply under a layer of heavy gravel which resists my most vigorous efforts to budge it. My previous excavation hasn't diminished the Snowdrop population, and in fact the fruits of my prior labours should be blooming in my front flower bed in the next few weeks. However, on this occasion, I wanted to bring home another small batch to plant on Skunk's grave with the grape hyacinths, daffodils and violets I've put there previously. My old kitty-girl has been gone almost a year now, and both Tippy and I miss her. It occurred to me only a few days ago that she had been with me longer than any other creature except my late husband, and that, only by a few months. I think Snowdrops are a fitting tribute.

Penny Perspectives - Baeomyces Rufus

Day 101: Although not as small as some lichens, the fruiting bodies of Baeomyces rufus (Brown Beret) are still tiny things, as this Penny Perspective demonstrates. The white stalks (podetia) and their tan caps (spore-producing apothecia) are only part of the lichen. The thallus (main body) is the pale green crust from which they arise. This species can be found growing on rock in shady locations. A similar species (Dibaes baeomyces) has a white thallus, and grows on soil.

When I set off on the Bud Blancher Trail a few days ago, my goal was a particular tree by the river which I knew to hold Graphis scripta, but as Crow plans are wont to do, this one began developing new legs almost as soon as my foot struck the ground. "Baeomyces!" I said to myself, thinking of potential material for a natural-history post, but I didn't think the "sucker hole" overhead was wide enough to allow me to reach the far end of the trail where I knew the species occurred. Then I remembered the second location, somewhat closer. When I got there, I was dismayed to find that the Baeomyces rock had been entirely overgrown with English Ivy in the space of a year. It took a bit of searching, but I finally found this last outpost of Brown Berets under a tangle of blackberry vines.

Chrysothrix Candelaris, Gold Dust Lichen

Day 100: You might mistake Chrysothrix candelaris for a smear of paint when you first notice it on a trailside tree, but in fact it is a lichen commonly called "Gold Dust." It occurs most frequently on bark, but also occasionally on rock. A hand lens will show that it is comprised entirely of tiny sorediate particles, truly resembling the dust from which its common name is derived. A related species (C. chlorina) prefers rock as its substrate, and forms a coarser, thicker crust. Here in the Pacific Northwest, Gold Dust can be found along many shady trails and even on roadside trees, particularly Douglas-fir. Take a closer look when you find it.

Penny Perspectives - Graphis Scripta

Day 99: Graphis scripta (Common Script Lichen) is as elegant as its scientific name sounds. The Latin words mean "inscribed" or "written," and it does indeed look like pencilled scribbles where it appears on bark. It is known to occur on a variety of trees (birch, beech and others), but here in the Pacific Northwest, it is most commonly found on Red Alder. As you can see, it is quite small, but when viewed under a hand lens, the unique elongated fruiting bodies reveal a longitudinal split. Where grain lines appear in the bark, these lirellae often follow the path of bark texture. What secret messages are hidden in Graphis scripta's code? Are they telling you to get outside and take a closer, much closer look at Nature?

Harmful And Invasive Species

Day 140: Today, I have a little quiz for you. The first question is easy: What species has done more to harm its native habitat than any other? Yep, you got it: Homo sap, for whom I would like to propose new nomenclature, i.e. Homo insapiens, the "unwise man."

I'll need to give you a little background before posing the second question. An invasive species is one which creates negative impacts on the environment into which it has been introduced. This can take a number of forms. It may establish a monoculture, snuffing out native species, sometimes to the extent of extinction. Invasives may reduce biodiversity by out-competing native organisms for limited resources. Invasives may permanently alter habitats and ecosystems by disrupting the natural controls which previously maintained a balance between endemic populations. Invasives are usually fast breeders with strong adaptive characteristics. Invasives are frequently biogenic vectors for disease.

Now for Part Two of the quiz: Name a non-native species common to North America, South America and Australia which has proven destructive to endemic populations on all the points listed above. Did I hear anybody suggest those horribly harmful Western Europeans? Go to the head of the class.

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.

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."

Bud Blancher Boogers

Day 103: Several years back, I discovered a rather...um...snotty-looking fungus growing on a dead tree near the Community Building at Longmire. Observing it through the seasons, I noticed changes in its structure which eventually allowed me to identify it as Exidia candida, but my original designation was simply too appropriate to let slide, and the "Booger Tree" established itself in my lexicon. A couple of years ago, the Booger Tree sloughed its bark and the boogers disappeared. They have since re-established themselves, if not perhaps in their original abundance, but at least they've reappeared. That said, this image shows an entirely different nose-oyster. I found these along the Bud Blancher Trail in Eatonville, and I'm just thankful no one else was out walking this morning to hear me exult, "Boogers! I found a new Booger Tree!" We must take our little joys wherever we may find them, and the boogers made my day.

Bud Blancher Knapweed

Day 292: If you're out walking and happen to see pretty little purple flowers which don't exactly fit the description of "thistle" because they're not thorny, or that remind you of Ragged Robin (if you have those in your area) or Bachelor's Buttons, step up and take a closer look. Chances are, it will be one of several species or hybrids in the Knapweed family, and a rapidly spreading invasive in many parts of North America. Even as a private citizen (as opposed to someone affiliated with an organization like the Invasive Plant Council), you can report your sighting on-line through EDDMapS at https://www.eddmaps.org/ and for those of you who have smarter phones than mine, there are apps to make the process easier. EDDMapS stands for "Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System." It is part of the University of Georgia's Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. Per their web page, "Early detection of new invasive species infestations and rapid, coordinated responses are needed to eradicate or contain invasions before they become too widespread and control becomes technically and financially impossible."

Knapweed is a growing concern here in the Pacific Northwest (unintended but appropriate pun, there). It can establish a monoculture in a very short period of time, and is sufficiently virulent to even give Scotch Broom a run for the money. Although many city, county and state agencies try to stay on top of it in their parks and on their trails, it goes without treatment on adjacent private properties. If you find it in a location where you can legally remove it, bag the heads before cutting, being careful not to shake loose any developing seed. Dislodged seed may continue to develop if it drops to the ground. Dispose of the bagged seed heads by placing them in your household garbage. Do not attempt to compost them; the temperature in a compost heap is not sufficient to destroy them. In worst-case scenarios, chemical treatment is recommended. Check with your local weed board to find out which chemicals can be used in your area.

IPC Bud Blancher Hike

Day 289: The Invasive Plant Council took a hike on Eatonville's Bud Blancher Trail today, which is to say that Program Coordinator Lisa Zander and I had a grand time hacking chicory, pulling tansy, documenting lactuca and knapweed in addition to subsidiary duties like visiting lower Mashel Falls, playing with frogs and taking a relaxing dunk in the Mashel River. We made a 9-mile loop out of it per Lisa's phone app, climbing on up past the falls to Pack Forest's road system, returning along the north boundary and passing through Smallwood Park. As for anyone else who signed on for the hike and failed to show up, you don't know what you missed!