Day 134: Given the size of Graphis scripta, I knew that trying to document its occurrence in the Park was going to be a challenge. The only thing I had working in my favour was the knowledge that it likes to grow on alder (Alnus rubra). Kevin and I had spent some time examining alders up Kautz Creek last week with no success, so today, I hiked up the Westside Road to another location I thought might yield up my "target species." A deer was my only companion as I wove my way among Devil's Club and salmonberry vines, and I was just about to throw in the towel and was working my way back to the road when I thought to check the other side of a three-inch tree I'd already examined. There, threatened by concealment by bryophytes, was my prize!
These photos are the first I've taken since being given the go-ahead for a research project to document lichen species in the Park, and I don't have to tell you how jazzed I am at the prospect. But Graphis scripta was not my only find for today. Stay tuned! You'll see more in coming posts.
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