Read The Script

Day 139: There is a secret message here, I'm sure of it, but even if I was conversant with Ogham script, the form of Gaelic used in mediaeval Ireland (or any Gaelic, for that matter) is out of my realm of expertise. Whatever Graphis scripta is trying to tell me, I can't read it. That said, I don't understand Italian either, but that doesn't prevent me from enjoying a good opera. Nor can I read Chinese, but I can admire the artistry in its written characters. Thus, Graphis scripta is one of my favourite lichens. The black "inscriptions" are in fact the fruiting bodies of this crustose species, specialized structures called "lirellae." Close examination of them would show that each "dash" is split down the center. The thallus (body) of the lichen is the whitish-grey background, one of several species of lichen which give our Red Alders the appearance of having grey bark.

Favourite Lichens Twofer

Day 155: No hike on the South Swofford Trail is complete without stopping to admire the Menegazzia terebrata, a greenish-grey foliose lichen whose lobes are perforated, supplying its common name of "Tree Flute." It's one of my favourites, and as I think about it, I suspect that my preference for certain lichen species may be based in the sound of their names. What a mellifluous word is "Menegazzia!" I was rolling it around on my tongue as I circled each Red Alder alongside the trail, looking for the optimal specimen to photograph, rejecting those which were too dry or in too much sun, when around on the shady north face of one tree I spotted this small rosette. Then I noticed another favourite, Graphis scripta, aka Script Lichen, its short, black lirellae etched into the bark like graffiti. "It's a twofer!" I said. "It doesn't get any better than this!" Okay, I admit I'm easily amused, but the South Swofford Trail never ceased to supply me with objects of interest, no matter when I walk it, or how many times. More will be appearing in my posts over the coming days.

Graphic Script

Day 156: We all have our favourites. They don't have to be rare, special or otherwise distinguished. We just like them for one reason or another. Graphis scripta (Common Script) is one of my favourite lichens. It's tiny to the point of being hard to spot even when you have your face a foot from the trunk of a Red Alder you know you've found it on before, so it should be no surprise that the people who walked past me as I was crouched on my knees photographing it wondered what I found so fascinating about grey bark. It looks exactly like marks made with a sharp pencil until you get closer. Then you can see that the black lines are split lengthwise. These are the lirellae, the fruiting bodies of the lichen. The thallus (body) is what makes the bark look grey where it occurs. Other crustose lichens may also impart a grey appearance to the bark of Red Alder, so if you're hunting for secret messages from Lichenopolis, you'll have to make a close examination to find the code.

Written By A Lichen

Day 107: What do you suppose has inspired Graphis scripta to leave its unique graffiti on the alder trees along my favourite trail in the Cowlitz Wildlife Area near Mossyrock Dam? Truly the Banksy of the lichen population, these elegant, raised markings are in fact the reproductive structures of the crustose species. They are called lirellae, and if you look closely, you will see that they are split longitudinally, as if scripta's pencil held two adjacent leads. The thallus (body) of the lichen is a thin, greyish-white crust which frequently coats the bark of Red Alder (Alnus rubra) to the extent that the natural colour which gives the tree its name is no longer visible. But science aside, what is scripta writing about? What is it illustrating? I see a little chick just below and slightly left of center, as well as the initial E canted in italics near the lower left edge. You could get lost trying to decipher scripta's code!

Penny Perspectives - Graphis Scripta

Day 99: Graphis scripta (Common Script Lichen) is as elegant as its scientific name sounds. The Latin words mean "inscribed" or "written," and it does indeed look like pencilled scribbles where it appears on bark. It is known to occur on a variety of trees (birch, beech and others), but here in the Pacific Northwest, it is most commonly found on Red Alder. As you can see, it is quite small, but when viewed under a hand lens, the unique elongated fruiting bodies reveal a longitudinal split. Where grain lines appear in the bark, these lirellae often follow the path of bark texture. What secret messages are hidden in Graphis scripta's code? Are they telling you to get outside and take a closer, much closer look at Nature?

Graphis Scripta, Script Lichen

Day 36: It's always a thrill for me when I find Graphis scripta in a new location, mainly because it's darned hard to spot unless you have your nose pressed right up against the host tree. Many lichens have a thin white thallus, as you'd discover if you began looking closely at the bark of Alnus rubra, Red Alder. It's called "red" for a reason, although in the Pacific Northwest, the true colour is generally so thickly colonized by those assorted lichens that alder bark gives the overall impression of being grey. That said, G. scripta seems to be less common than other lichens, so I've made a personal project out of finding it. At least locally, it tends to be restricted to the lower portions of tree trunks, only occurring above 3' in height in rare circumstances. The black "scribbles" which characterize the lichen are called "lirellae," i.e., fruiting bodies (apothecia) which, if viewed closely, exhibit a groove down the center of the length. Some subtlety in its appearance caused me to step off the trail for a closer look at one young alder yesterday, and sure enough, G. scripta's Ogham characters had been written in a shaky hand a foot above ground level, untranslatable, elegant and almost too small to see.

Height Matters

Day 165: It's hard for me to make any progress along the trail when it's flanked by alder trees because that's where I'm likely to find one of my favourite lichens, the tiny (1/4" long) dashes of Graphis scripta. That said, I have made an observation which has so far held true: height matters. I always have to bend down to locate it. I have not yet seen it more than 3.5" from the ground regardless of exposure. None of my field guides mention this phenomenon and indeed it may not be universal. There are still a lot of alders out there which I haven't checked. I may never get where I'm going!

An Elegant Script

Day 148: I've always thought of myself as a keen observer of Nature, but in following my passion for lichens, I've discovered a vast, miniature world I never knew existed, and in places I've visited hundreds of times. Take Graphis scripta, for example. This photo shows it much larger than life, and in the Cowlitz Wildlife area where I was hiking a few days ago, it is abundant on almost every Red Alder in the forest. The lirellae seldom measure more than 5 mm. in length and here, few exceed 3 mm., yet in places, they are so dense as to appear almost solidly black. In others, they may cover much of the lower six feet or so of any given tree trunk in the graceful, uniform distribution shown here. The same abundance is true of Ochrolechia laevigata, one of the disk lichens. What else have I missed by not looking closely enough at my surroundings? What other beauties have been right under my nose?

Needle In A Haystack

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.

Penny Perspectives - Graphis Scripta

Day 119: At first glance, you could be excused for describing the bark of Red Alder (Alnus rubra) as a patchwork of white, grey and pale grey-green, when in actuality it is ash-grey to greyish-brown beneath a dappled surface. The motley coloration evidenced here in the "Pacific Northwe't" can be credited to a variety of finely crustose lichen species, among them the delightful Graphis scripta (Common Script Lichen). Its specialized apothecia (fruiting bodies) take the form of linear lirellae resembling pencil marks scribbled on a white canvas (the thallus of the species). Graphis scripta is the only script lichen common outside the southern US, and may be found on birch as well as alder within its PNW range. Presented here as a Penny Perspective, you may want to take a hand lens if you go hunting for it!