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.