Pin It!

Day 316: My botany partners joke that they can track where I've been by looking for "Crow Rocks," i.e., the various things I use as field tripods. Sometimes it's a rock, yes, but sticks and bits of shed bark are also frequently brought into service for the same purpose. As it happened, I was down on my knees at the camera with a chunk of long-dead, dry wood propping up the lens, and my attention was fully on the unique plant I was photographing. Then, as I started to raise up, the light hit the surface of the wood at a different angle, and there they were, hundreds of little black pins no more than one scant millimeter in height. Joe and Sharon were already back at the car, so I carried my treasure out to them and as I walked up, I said, "Here's something I bet you've never seen before!" A photo session ensued, drivers of passing cars no doubt wondering what was so fascinating about a chunk of old wood.

These are a species of "stickpin" or "pin lichen." Without laboratory facilities, I can't positively determine which one, but Mycocalicium subtile is my best guess, based on characteristics I could observe with a hand lens and habitat/substrate. This is only the second pin lichen I have ever found. As you might guess, they are extremely difficult to spot due to their size. Closer observation would reveal that the capitula (pinheads) are goblet-shaped or, as Sharon observed, "Like little tiny Myrios," referring to our historic fungal find from several years ago. You never know what you're going to find in the woods if you just keep your eyes open.

Chaenotheca Ferruginea, See It?

Day 168: Hands down, my most exciting find from today's field trip to Deschutes Falls Park with the Northwest Lichenologists was Chaenotheca ferruginea, one of the "pin lichens." Can you see it? There's just one, almost dead-center in the photo: a little black "pin" sticking out of a tiny patch of yellowish-grey thallus. The diameter of the stalk would be roughly that of a human hair. From base to the top of the rounded capitulum (head), the lichen is approximately 1 mm. in height. Yes, you read that right: 1 mm. Not 1 cm., one MILLIMETER. I think I'm going to be spending a lot more time with my nose pressed right against bark now that I know what to look for.

For the most part, the experts were very helpful and took time to explain basic features of lichens to less-experienced participants. Most of the attendees were students in the field and had some degree of expertise. I felt that I fell somewhere between rank novice and "advanced beginner" because although I recognized many of the species as also being in the Park environment, there were a lot of others with which I was not at all familiar (the Ramalinas, for example). I could hold my own talking about Cladonia bellidiflora or Pilophorus acicularis, but I was completely at sea with many other genera. And there is always one academic snob in every crowd. I had drifted away from one group to assist with the identification of a vascular plant and stopped to look at a specimen of Usnea someone else had picked up. When a nearby academic identified it, I asked, "How can you tell that's what it is?" I expected her to say something along the lines of, "It's sorediate" or "The fibrils are forked at the tips." Instead, she replied, "Because I'm a professional." Needless to say, I moved on.

Taking a field trip with experts can have two effects simultaneously. It can be very discouraging when you realize just how much knowledge you do NOT have, but on the other hand, it can be a strong motivator to learn more when the professionals are willing to share their expertise. Thanks to the educators in this group, I think I'll be able to weather the feeling of deflation and will become a better lichenologist through their encouragement.