Favourite Lichens Twofer

Day 155: No hike on the South Swofford Trail is complete without stopping to admire the Menegazzia terebrata, a greenish-grey foliose lichen whose lobes are perforated, supplying its common name of "Tree Flute." It's one of my favourites, and as I think about it, I suspect that my preference for certain lichen species may be based in the sound of their names. What a mellifluous word is "Menegazzia!" I was rolling it around on my tongue as I circled each Red Alder alongside the trail, looking for the optimal specimen to photograph, rejecting those which were too dry or in too much sun, when around on the shady north face of one tree I spotted this small rosette. Then I noticed another favourite, Graphis scripta, aka Script Lichen, its short, black lirellae etched into the bark like graffiti. "It's a twofer!" I said. "It doesn't get any better than this!" Okay, I admit I'm easily amused, but the South Swofford Trail never ceased to supply me with objects of interest, no matter when I walk it, or how many times. More will be appearing in my posts over the coming days.

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.

Written By A Lichen

Day 107: What do you suppose has inspired Graphis scripta to leave its unique graffiti on the alder trees along my favourite trail in the Cowlitz Wildlife Area near Mossyrock Dam? Truly the Banksy of the lichen population, these elegant, raised markings are in fact the reproductive structures of the crustose species. They are called lirellae, and if you look closely, you will see that they are split longitudinally, as if scripta's pencil held two adjacent leads. The thallus (body) of the lichen is a thin, greyish-white crust which frequently coats the bark of Red Alder (Alnus rubra) to the extent that the natural colour which gives the tree its name is no longer visible. But science aside, what is scripta writing about? What is it illustrating? I see a little chick just below and slightly left of center, as well as the initial E canted in italics near the lower left edge. You could get lost trying to decipher scripta's code!