Cladonia Bellidiflora

Day 364: I call them the "wildflowers of winter." A week of rain has given new life to the Pacific Northwest's abundant lichen population, and nothing says "Hurray!" quite like the bright red apothecia of Cladonia bellidiflora. This is our left-coast version of a related eastern species known colloquially as British Soldiers (C. cristatella). Lichen common names are not standardized like those for wildflowers, but the most generally accepted term for C. bellidiflora is Toy Soldiers.

Cladonia Bellidiflora, Toy Soldiers

Day 48: You can have your holly and your mistletoe. I'll take my Christmas colours in Cladonia bellidiflora. This showy fruticose lichen puts on a spectacular display of red apothecia, giving rise to its common and appropriately seasonal name of Toy Soldiers. A similar species (C. cristatella) is only found east of the Mississippi River and its common name of British Soldiers is frequently misapplied to C. bellidiflora. Closer examination of the podetia will reveal one easily observable difference: bellidiflora's "stems" are abundantly covered with pale green squamules (scales) whereas cristatella's podetia are finely granular.

Lichens And 'Shrooms

Day 26: "Perspective," I remind myself. "It's all about keeping things in the proper perspective." When I start to lose my perspective, I go for a nature walk. The lichens and 'shrooms bring me down to earth, both figuratively and literally. Barring a lahar, they'll be there tomorrow and the day after, and the week after that, and if they don't come back next year, something else will take their place: equally beautiful, equally vital in its own niche. I am humbled by their perseverance and resilience as, on a whole, they adapt to changes in their circumstance, and I try to carry away with me the lesson which they silently put forth. Do I succeed? Not always, because I am human, but the lesson remains where I can refer to it time and again until it gives me some modicum of ease. Perspective. I need a walk.

Forest Stoplight

Day 185: Longmire Campground is a particularly lichen-rich area, trees festooned with Alectoria sarmentosa, branches entirely masked by lavish colonies of Lobaria oregana and Lobaria pulmonaria, a quilt of Stereocaulon and Cladina rangiferina laid over mossy rocks which were once riverbed. It has its share of vascular plants, but the overall impression a visitor receives is of an understory thick with moss and lichen. A few oddities crop up now and then, such as Hemitomes congestum, a mycoheterotroph also known as Gnome Plant, implying that the mycorrhizal elements here contribute to a diverse and complex micro-ecology.

Having somewhat neglected the more common lichens of the area, I went exploring for textbook specimens to photograph for my records. Into the forest a few hundred yards, I was wading through mounds of Cladina and Stereocaulon when a brilliant red "stoplight" pulled me to a halt. It was perhaps the most luxurious colony of Cladonia bellidiflora I have ever found, more unusual because it appeared to be confined entirely to one moss-covered boulder not much larger than a cantaloupe. A few other scattered specimens were found as well, at most three or four in a group, none so lavish as those found on this one rock. "Micro-ecology," indeed! Why in this spot and no other? I wish they would explain themselves!

By Request: The Redheads And Mr. Lincoln

Day 110: I stand reproved. I had multiple requests in various venues for the Redheads presented as a Penny Perspective, and not to disappoint those among my readership who have surprised me with their interest in my lovely lichen companions, I took another short walk on the Bud Blancher Trail today, returning to the site of yesterday's subject matter. In the process, I discovered a species which I have yet to place in a family (crustose, white, growing on live alder) as well as some nice Cladonia grayi. I suspect the white specimen will prove problematic when I try to identify it, but I do enjoy the challenge.

Bud Blancher's Cladonia Forest

Day 109: It was a year ago, during one of my first walks on the Bud Blancher Trail that I discovered several lush colonies of Cladonia bellidiflora growing on decaying logs and at the bases of three or four trees newly exposed to light from the north. At the time, I said to myself that this was a good opportunity for a field experiment, and made a mental note to monitor the lichens to see how they would react in the absence of shade. No significant changes were registered in 2015 despite a droughty summer, nothing beyond the normal reaction to dry weather. It remained to be seen if they would spring back when the rains arrived, so when I walked the trail a few days ago, I paid them a visit. I am happy to report that the colonies (all of them) are thriving.

Cladonia bellidiflora is quite common in the Pacific Northwest. It nearly always exhibits bright red apothecia (fruiting bodies), but the density of squamules (scales) on the podetia (stalks) may vary widely. Bud Blancher's specimens are not particularly squamulose.

Bellidiflora Up Close And Personal

Day 202: I recently purchased a snap-on macro filter thinking that I'd be able to get more detail for the field-guide style shots I present to my readers. I was only half right. While shooting macros does bring you "up close and personal" with your subject, the "field guide" aspect is lessened due to the diminished depth of field which excludes any habitat features one might use in making a solid identification. A good zoom keeps that frame of reference by allowing foreground and background detail when desired. Personally, I find out-of-focus foreground material distracting (the moss in this shot, for example). In macro photography, it is difficult to avoid when the camera is placed at a side-on angle. That said, a photo like this one could be useful in a classroom situation where the instructor wants to define terms: apothecia, squamules, podetia, primary and secondary thalli. Add a couple of arrows, and you have a PowerPoint slide for Lichens 101.

Cladonia bellidiflora would make a good poster child for lichen-speak. The bright red apothecia appear at the tips of podetia thick with ragged squamules. Even without arrows, you can recognize those parts.

Spotlight On Cladonia Bellidiflora

Day 46: C. bellidiflora is a fairly common Cladonia here in the Pacific Northwest, and perhaps its success is due to the abundant squamules which typically cover its podetia. Okay, I threw a couple of unfamiliar words out there and to save my readers from having to scramble to their dictionaries, I'll explain. A lichen's stems are called "podetia" (singular "podetium") and the squamules are the little leaf-like structures growing along them. These "leaves" allow the lichen to trap nutrient-laden moisture and conserve it in the dry season. "Apothecia" are the fruiting bodies of the lichen (in this species, bright red knobs). Cladonia bellidiflora is particularly showy, although generally, most people walk right by colonies unless the apothecia are readily evident and happen to catch a hiker's eye. It is one of several "lipstick" lichens you'll find in our forests, and in my experience, seems to have a preference for decaying cedar stumps and logs.

Lichen Architecture

Day 150: I've mentioned previously that lichens are particularly equipped to conserve moisture whether it's rain, dew or simply humidity, and no species typifies the amazing biological architecture of a water-retention system better than that of abundantly squamous Cladonia bellidiflora. The pale greyish-green squamules (scaly flakes) on the podetia (stalks) allow this Cladonia to make use of whatever moisture comes its way, even when the lichen is growing on a vertical plane such as the side of a downed log. We speak of animal and bird species as being "specialized," but lichens are one of the best examples of specialization in nature.