Day 68: It was an odd sensation, not something I could put a finger on, but any time I observed Platismatia glauca (Ragbag Lichen), a feeling of (vacancy? unease? puzzlement?) would come over me. Something was missing. How do you pin down an absence? The next time I found Ragbag, the same hollow sense would bring that not-exactly-a-chill to the back of my neck. It was always stronger when I'd find an older specimen, already starting to turn pinkish around the edges. A few days ago, it hit me: there was an unformed question I should have been needing to answer about that pink tinge.
We all know that lichens are comprised mainly of fungus and algae, right? Never mind the other stuff. It's not important to this discussion. We'll only concern ourselves with the algae. Those of us who live in coastal states are aware that red tides are caused by a toxic species of algae (or we bloody well should know that if we intend to eat shellfish). And those of us who backpack into the snowy uplands know (or should know) not to melt red-tinged snow for our drinking water for the same reason: toxic algae. Not that anybody would chow down on Ragbag, but is the pink colouration which appears in older specimens caused by the algal component of this common lichen? The answer is NO. Platismatia's phycobiont is a green alga. The pink tinge is a fungal pigment. And now that I've settled that thanks to an hour or so of internet delving, I can go back to quilting with the assurance that the next time I run across Ragbag, I'll be able to observe it without that sense of "something is missing here."
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