From Alectoria To Xanthoria

Day 355: This temporary collection of two dozen species represents many miles of driving and at least 15 miles on foot, demonstration specimens for my upcoming Nisqually Land Trust "Introduction to Lichens" talk this Sunday. I'm glad we booked a conference room at Billy Frank National Wildlife Refuge because as of last night, thirty people had signed up, more than double what I was expecting. Of course it's always nice when you can guarantee that a "field trip" won't be rained out and you don't need to advise participants to dress warmly. Maybe that's what accounts for the popularity of this event. Folks will have the opportunity to view lichen structures under the microscope, and will learn how to identify some of the more common genera from Alectoria to Xanthoria . Note that in the first sentence, I used the word "temporary." All but a very few samples will be returned to their respective homes, weather permitting.

Bio-Blitz Lichens

Day 219: Are you ready for the Blitz? Mount Rainier National Park is holding a two-day "bio-blitz" during which student groups will participate in educational programs covering a variety of natural-history subjects, and adult volunteers will hike with scientists, taking photographs and documenting as many species as possible within their chosen topic. Your Humble Narrator has the privilege of being one of the scientist leads for the project, and if you need a hint to guess the subject on which I will be expounding, you are guilty of not paying attention in class.

Over the last several days, I've gathered samples ("for educational purposes") demonstrating a dozen or so different lichen genera, and if I'd worried about them being too dry last week, rainy weather has brought them back to full glory. So much for keeping them in a cooler, separated by damp paper towels! The adults on my Saturday hike will be looking for lichens of all sorts, but at the same time, keeping their eyes peeled for the elusive, pioneering Pilophorus in the hopes of furthering our knowledge of its timeline and its altitudinal range. The fourth and fifth graders who will be with me for tomorrow's session will be hunting down "fairy barf" (Icmadophila ericetorum), experiencing the observational benefits of making botanical drawings, and maybe winning small prizes for catching Crow when she says "litch-en" instead of "like-en." It promises to be damp day, but a rewarding one nevertheless, and hopefully, these events will lead to more like them in the future. I'm excited!