Sunday, February 24, 2008

Likin' Lichens


Lichens are fungus, and can be found on decaying wood, mossy logs, and in this case, as shown above, on an old tree stump. These very showy British Soldier lichens (Cladonia cristatella), having taken their name from the red uniforms worn by British soliders during the American Revolut -ionary War, are by far my favourites. They are very small and when finding them on the ground in patches of moss I have often gotten down on my hands and knees in order to take their pictures. Lichens are also found on tree trunks and branches and come in a wide variety of shapes, textures, sizes and colours. Its really easy to develop a liking for lichens!

3 comments:

Mary said...

That red lichen is very neat! Do you see a lot of it? I don't think I've ever seen any that colorful.

Sandpiper (Lin) said...

An interesting blog today with some good pix. I love British Soldiers. We used to have a house in the woods and the lichens grew on the rocks and logs right near the house. I looked forward to seeing them every year.

me ann my camera said...

Mary:
The British Soldiers Lichen is not hard to find in my area and of course the colour of it makes the search for it that much easier.

Sandpiper:
I like old woodstumps and the look of age about them. Finding the British Soldiers at the top of the one pictured was a bonus when out walking on the weekend.

A house in the woods sounds like a very special setting with lots of photographic appeal!

Island:
Thanks for the award! What a good idea and how kind of you to promote other nature bloggers.