Ridiculously Lichenicolous Stick

Day 27: This is a Ridiculously Lichenicolous Stick. RLS's are not uncommon in the Pacific Northwest and come in a variety of types depending on their individual ecologic niches. My area (that in the vicinity of Mount Rainier National Park and Eatonville) is notable for its extensive Usnea population. Although I only took one specimen from the RLS which I identified as Usnea scabrata, there may have been different Usneas interspersed with it. In fact, I probably could have spent an hour or more studying the RLS had I had my aide mémoire and a hand lens in my pack. Unfortunately, I did not. That said, what was notable about the RLS was not its abundant Usneas or the nearly-hidden Parmelias hugging more tightly to its bark, but the fact that it (the RLS) was pointing its four-foot length to my planned route as if giving a nod of approval to the hike. Things like advice from an RLS signify to those of us who spend large portions of our time in the woods.

Leocarpus Fragilis On Usnea Sp.

Day 359: If you were a slime mold, you would begin life as a single cell, having "hatched" (as it were) from a spore. Like any self-respecting cell, you would grow by fission. After reaching a certain state, you might encounter another compatible cell and, after a suitable cellular courtship, you'd join with it in a second biologic process called fusion. This fusion (similar to that of sperm and egg) would include the respective nuclei of both partners. The resultant diploid zygote would then feed and grow, its nuclei redividing and increasing, eventually resulting in a structure known as a plasmodium: a single multi-nucleate amoeboid cell. When various environmental factors align (food supply, temperature, light level, moisture, pH), the fruiting process is initiated (shown here in Leocarpus fragilis on an Usnea lichen). Inside the fruiting bodies, the protoplasm separates into units each containing a single nucleus. These undergo further division reduction until what remains of each unit is a haploid spore. When the sporangia (spore capsules) rupture, the spores are dispersed and the process begins again. That said, some slime molds have a secondary reproductive strategy to ensure the continuation of their species, and they will continue to populate the Earth long after we humans, so convinced of our own importance, are gone to dust.

Usnea Lace

Day 99: There are a lot of Usnea species which aren't covered in the Forty-Pound Field Guide, so I won't emulate this one by going out on a limb to identify it. Suffice to say that it's as fine as an example of Mother Nature's lace-making skills as any piece ever entered in a state fair. I can say that several identifying features are absent or present, e.g., its bushy growth habit, the fact that the tendrils are not regularly dichotomously branched, its pussywillow host (as opposed to an evergreen); all factors which allow me to rule out a few species common in the Pacific Northwest, but nothing I can point up to say, "Yes, that's the one!" For whatever it's worth, several very similar specimens appear on Sharnoff's website under "Usnea - unidentified species" collected in Washington. Even if I can't pin it down, it appears I'm in good company.

Usnea Apothecium

Day 169: An unidentified Usnea provided my second big thrill during the lichenology field trip. I simply adore lichens with "eyelashes" on their apothecia, and this was only the second one I've ever found. My previous discovery belonged to a different genus in which the fringed apothecia are common. In Usneas, it's something which is not too often seen around here. The largest "eye" (shown here) was roughly 5 mm in diameter. Two smaller ones were on a lateral branch of the same specimen. Upon closer examination, I believe two species of Usnea were present on this twig, although Usneas can be highly variable within a single species.