Pilophorus Acicularis

Day 263: Anyone who comes to visit me should know to expect at least a few botany lessons, so when Rob, Mike and I went up to Longmire, I just had to introduce them to Pilophorus acicularis, aka "Devil's Matchstick Lichen." It's one of my favourites. A "pioneer" lichen, it is one of the first to colonize the surfaces of freshly broken rock, although the definition of "freshly broken" can extend twenty years or so into the past. This particular specimen is on the road cut just south of the wooden bridge between Longmire proper and the volunteer campground. The bridge is currently in need of repair, and Rob and Mike checked it over thoroughly, studying the architecture and welds while I worked my way along the ditch trying to remember exactly which bump of rock held my pet Pilophorus. When I finally found it, I called Rob over to show it to him. Pffft! I don't think he was sufficiently impressed! But then, National Parks hold different attractions for people with a wide variety of interests, don't they?

Best Rock In The Park

Day 60: There are three known species of "matchstick" lichens in the Pacific Northwest, two of which can be found in Mount Rainier National Park. Pilophorus clavatus ("tapered matchstick," left) and Pilophorus acicularis ("devil's matchstick," right) are easy to miss because at their tallest, their thready stems do not rise more than an inch in height. Clavatus' apothecia (fruiting bodies) are elongated and club-like, supported by reddish podetia (stalks), while the knobby, round heads of acicularis cap pale green podetia. They are both pioneer species, occurring on freshly broken rock ("freshly" being defined here as a measure of decades rather than weeks). Not far from the Administration Building at Longmire, the two matchsticks can be found together on what I think of as "the best rock in the Park."

My Favourite Rock

Day 166: With the lichen conference coming up tomorrow, I felt compelled to go talk to my favourite rock today. Halfway between the bridge and the Community Building at Longmire, this three-foot tall vertical face is absolutely "hairy" with Pilophorus acicularis. At most, the podetia are an inch and a half tall and smaller in diameter than the lead in a pencil. Young ones resemble tiny threads, each one tipped with a shiny black apothecium. As a lichen lover, the word which springs to mind to describe Pilophorus is "cute," and any time I'm walking that direction, you'll see me hunker down beside them to speak a few appreciative words. I mean, not too many people have a 500-pound Chia pet!

Adopt A Rock

Day 5: I've adopted a rock...which is to say that I was hiking in an area where taking something home with you was not prohibited (i.e., allowable from an old logging road) and came across a more or less loose 7 x 10" rock covered with my favourite lichen, Pilophorus acicularis, and...well...I mean, how could I resist? Pilophorus is native to the immediate area...no sins committed against the environment by introducing a non-native species. I can give it exactly the conditions it likes best, and I can even be sure that it doesn't get too dry in the summertime. Okay, I had to carry it about half a mile to get it back to the car, a process which inspired me to think about leaving it behind several times, but it was Pilophorus! It just seemed to have "Take me home!" written all over it. I bedded it comfortably at the base of the dogwood where I can admire it daily even if I don't go outside. Much better than a chia pet, I think!

Pilophorus Acicularis, Devil's Matchstick

Day 29: Pilophorus acicularis is one of my favourite lichens. It is a "pioneer," one of the first to colonize freshly exposed surfaces of non-calcareous rock. During Bio-Blitz last May, I set my group the task of searching for it as we hiked the Rampart Ridge trail. It's not easy to see, but once everyone got their eyes tuned to its dusty pale green colour, they began spotting it and soon had tallied quantities far beyond anything I'd expected. They also found multiple examples of Pilophorus clavatus, a related (but not as photogenic) species, often growing as a neighbour with acicularis on different faces of the rocks. A third species of Pilophorus reportedly occurs in Washington's Olympic Mountains. I have yet to observe it.

Specimens of the two Mount Rainier species seldom exceed an inch in length, and at the end of summer are often quite dry and wiry. However, the granular nature of the cortex latches onto even the slightest amount of moisture (dew, fog, rain), and after a few damp days, the "bristles" become soft and pliable again. A rock fully vested in Pilophorus strongly suggests a sylvan Chia Pet!

Bio-Blitz Big Day

Day 221: Under an ominous weather forecast, today's Bio-Blitz teams were wondering if the event was going to turn into a swim meet before they returned with their species surveys. It had been raining rather vigorously when I left home, but during the preliminary briefings, precipitation dwindled to a light drizzle. We dispersed to our various assignments, and my crew headed up Rampart Ridge. Our goal was to make the entire loop, but it quickly became apparent that we had too much to document in the time allotted to us, so after taking close to two hours to complete the first mile, we began considering alternatives. By the time we reached the overlook, we had recorded over 70 images of lichens, bryophytes, fungi and mycoheterotrophic plants and it was time to turn around. We took a brief lunch in a light shower, the only real rain we'd experienced up to that point.

Among the species we documented were Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia), both Pilophorus acicularis and clavatus (Matchstick lichens), and one solitary specimen of Usnea. We found two examples of a colour variation of Corallorhiza maculata (canary yellow!) and a number of emergent Allotropa virgata (Candystick) and Hypopitys monotropa (Pinesap). All in all, it was a very rewarding day, and it only started raining in earnest as we made our final approach to the Longmire parking area. Bio-Blitz was a blast!

Best Rock Ever!

Day 183: My lunchtime walk today yielded up the Best Rock Ever! It holds BOTH species of Pilophorus side-by-side (clavatus on the left, acicularis on the right), and to further add to its merits, it's on the trail on which I'll be conducting a lichen walk during Bio-Blitz.

My Bio-Blitz walk will cover about a dozen lichen genera, and then our volunteers will be sent out on their own, cameras in hand, to photograph as many lichen species as they can find, with an eye to publishing them on iNaturalist. However, as a secondary goal, they will be specifically documenting Pilophorus in the hopes of getting a better picture of the time-frame in which this pioneer lichen colonizes "freshly exposed" rock surfaces. In my personal experience with P. acicularis, "freshly exposed" may range from 20-60 years.

In my original plan, I would have been taking people to two sites approximately a mile apart in order to view both species. The discovery of the Best Rock Ever just made my job enormously easier!

Pilophorus Comparison

Day 142: Matchstick lichens are relatively uncommon, and only two species occur in the Pacific Northwest. Both of them can be found within a five-minute walk of the Longmire Administration Building. They are among the first to colonize freshly broken rock such as that shattered in laying roads or building trails. Pilophorus acicularis (Devil's Matchstick, top) can often be found growing on vertical surfaces, its hair-like podetia topped by shiny black, almost round apothecial knobs. Pilophorus clavatus (Tapered Matchstick) presents apothecia which are longer and more club-like than those of its cousin. Both species are quite small (usually under an inch long) and may be difficult to spot even when the viewer is in close proximity.

A Pile Of Matchsticks

Day 111: It makes me feel good to know that at least some of my readers are enjoying my lichen posts. In fact, one of them expressed an interest in seeing Devil's Matchstick, and since this species is a personal favourite, I'm glad to oblige.

Pilophorus acicularis is a "pioneer" lichen. It prefers to colonize freshly exposed non-calcareous rock, and in so doing, contributes to its breakdown. It is also a nitrogen-fixer. The podetia (stalks) are thread-like, usually no more than an inch long, and are topped by shiny black apothecia (fruiting bodies). This particular colony is lush, growing on the vertical face of a boulder broken during road construction ("freshly exposed" is a relative term...the road was cut years ago). It is one of two species of Pilophorus I've found in Longmire. A handy snowbank served as my tripod for this shot, but you'll have to take my word on the size. There was nowhere to mount my penny-on-a-stick to give perspective. However, if you look in the upper left quadrant, you can see two brown fir needles for comparison.

Pile O' Pack Forest Pilophorus

Day 2: The best part wasn't the nine-mile hike. It wasn't even the bagful of chanterelles I picked for my dinner. No, the thing which really had me excited was finding a pile o' Pilophorus in Pack Forest! It is the first time I have observed them outside the Park.

They're not easy to spot. The photo doesn't give you much for scale unless you're on a first-name basis with Douglas fir needles. Pilophorus' stalks are no larger than a pencil lead, about an inch long, and their pale green colour camouflages them extremely well. As a matter of fact, I have walked past this rock dozens of times and never noticed them. Today, I elected to walk the 2000 Rd. counterclockwise, and thus put myself in a position where the light was right. As always when I walk, my eyes were searching the hillsides for anything photo-worthy. I must have noted them subconsciously, because I was a few steps beyond them when I said aloud, "Wait a minute...was that Pilophorus?" Those of us who have spent much of our lives in wilderness do that...talk to ourselves...or to the rocks or the trees or the lichens or the little chirpy birds. Little black-tipped stalks beckoned, so I backtracked. Yes, there they were, a pile o' Pack Forest Pilophorus. Did I have my GPSr with me? Not a chance! Will I be able to find them again? You bet! I may forget whether a friend has a mustache or wears glasses, but I never forget a rock or tree, especially not when it's populated with one of my favourite lichens.

Pilophorus On Parade

Day 193: With the acquisition of a new macro lens/filter, one of my first targets was the colony of Pilophorus acicularis at Longmire. These little fellers are my new "favourite lichen," not only for their cute black hats, but also for their propensity for growing straight out from the side of a vertical rock. Seen from a distance of five feet, you'd take them for grey moss where they cluster thickly. Seen from two feet, they put you in mind of a mutant Chia pet. A few specimens grow upright in this location, although I'm sure that they'd rather be doing horizontal stretches with their compeers, the yoga practitioners of Lichenopolis contending against gravity in pursuit of grace, a grey ballet of black-capped figures on a rocky stage.

Lunchin' With Lichens

Day 163: Vile weather didn't prevent me from lunchin' with a couple of my favourite lichens today. I found another nice colony of Pilophorus acicularis (top) near the Longmire bridge, higher up on the rocks than I'd previously explored. A bonus was the discovery of a three-foot section of log thickly populated with Icmadophila ericetorum (bottom), a common "dot lichen" here in the Pacific Northwe't. The rain? The lichens love it, even if I don't.

Stalking The Wild Pilophorus

Day 150: Rather than taking a longer walk, I spent a large portion of my lunch break scrutinizing every square inch of exposed rock alongside the road between the Longmire housing area and the Community Building today and discovered to my great delight many more well-established colonies of Pilophorus acicularis. This uncommon species has taken over as my new favourite lichen. Oddly, I found none at all on the north side of the bridge; apparently the substrate there is already sufficiently developed for second-growth species like Cladonia and Stereocaulon to take hold.

I'm certain that if anyone had driven by, they might have wondered what I was so intent on photographing. I think I need a bumper sticker for my car: "Easily distracted by lichens."

Longmire Pioneers

Day 144: Humans can't claim to be the only pioneers to have occupied Longmire. Pilophorus acicularis ("Devil's Matchstick") is a "pioneer" lichen, one of the first to colonize freshly exposed rock surfaces. Chemicals within the structure of many lichens contribute to soil formation by causing certain minerals in rock to become more soluble. Subsequently when the lichen dies, its decaying organic matter accumulates in the pits and cracks it has helped to create, forming a substrate for the next species to colonize. An uncommon lichen, Pilophorus acicularis is also a nitrogen-fixer, much like the legumes of agricultural fame (peas, alfalfa, etc.). This factor is what gives it an advantage over other lichens which cannot establish on bare rock.