Lepraria lobificans - Fluffy Dust Lichen

This mint green cutie is common on shaded rocks, mosses, and tree trunks.  Lepraria species are sterile crustose lichens and cannot absorb liquid water at all due to surface tension, deriving all of their moisture from the air.  This explains why they are largely restricted to shady/humid areas.  This particular species is thick and cottony, while some other Lepraria species can be granular and rounder.  There are 12 North American species of Lepraria identified.

I had the honor this week of talking to James Lendemer of the New York Botanical Garden about his work with lichen in Pennsylvania and the east coast.  He is just the man.  Google him.  I'm so excited and honored that we will be staying in touch with one another over the summer, that I am invited to check out his lab, and that I may be able to go out into the field with him!  I very nearly hyper-ventilated when I got off the phone with him.  Lichen nerds unite!

Earth Day

Happy belated Earth Day.  A good Earth Day, indeed, as rain has occurred in the midst of a meteorological drought.  It has not stopped since.  It's quite fantastic.  Here are some fiddle-heads for you.

I've never eaten fiddle-heads, myself, but I am aware of their anti-oxidant properties and the concentrations of omega 3s and 6s, as well as potassium.  I do enjoy looking at them, and I love seeing them pop up here and there in the spring.  I don't give much credence to claims that they are carcinogenic.  Much like pyrrolizidine alkaloids in comfrey that folks freak out about when it is isolated, I would imagine that people fear fiddle-heads for much the same reason.  If you are not aware, these alkaloids were isolated from comfrey leaf and administered in large, unbuffered doses to lab rats and found to cause cancer.  I think that most  constituents of plants when isolated and administered in large doses will cause imbalances and disease is biotic systems, carcinogenic or otherwise.  So silly, these pharmaceutical folks.  But don't take my word for it about fiddle-heads and comfrey, as I'm shooting from the hip at the moment and have not conducted my own research.  But I can tell you this; people have used these plants for hundreds of years with little consequence.  That's evidence enough for many of us, and evidence enough for me.  


Also, Arbor Day is Friday.  My fave.  

Lepraria neglecta - Zoned Dust Lichen

Lepraria neglecta - Zoned Dust Lichen

I spent some time with these little dudes a few days ago at the Wissahickon Valley Park off Forbidden Drive a few days ago.  I took pictures of a bunch of different lichen species that day, and for whatever reason these really appealed to me, though I suppose in one way or another they all do.   

Zoned Dust lichens are ascomycetes symbionts, or "sac fungi."  Actually, around 42% of ascomycota can form lichenized fungi and almost all fungal symbionts of lichens are ascomycota.  Anyway, they are grey dust lichens with foliose type edges.  The shape is very distinct... they sort of remind me of little celestial looking things; like little starbursts of lichen awesomeness. This is the only rock I found them on that day, although the Wissahickon is loaded with different species and I was able to photograph numerous other rock substrate lichens that day.

In other news-- the semester is rapidly drawing to a close.  Of this I am quite pleased.  While I am not looking forward to picking up more hours at my "jobby" job, I am looking forward to spending more time with my internships and with the Zoo Project.  I have a huge list of species that I have to get cuttings of for both Fairmount Park and the arboretum, and I'm hoping to get a huge chunk of that done next Saturday.  I am perhaps most excited about propagating Viburnum farreri in hopes I can snag a cutting for my mom's garden, as winter interest there is lacking.  Even better would be Chimonanthus praecox-- anyone know where I can get me some of that?

Is this thing on?

Okay.  So I'm new at this thing but I think it is of some sort of importance that I document some of the work that I do, musings, and other miscellany to some sort of "something out there" for the benefit of my own sanity, to help others, and to reach out to other nerds in the world.

I'm 30.  My life is currently beautiful, full, and fascinating.  I'm a student and relatively soon-to-be grad student.  I am a plant geek and have an unhealthy preoccupation with lichens, cats, and general nerd-lore.  I am okay with this.  My partner is okay with this and we are nerds together.

I work at a lot of different places in Philadelphia.  I am employed at a garden center where I tend more to people than to the plants I love.  I coordinate a project on Temple Ambler campus that involves propagating native trees to plant at Fairmount Park in an effort to offset carbon emissions generated by the Philadelphia Zoo.  I also work to propagate non-native species there for specimen plants at the arboretum. I am the Invasive Plant Steward at High School Park and in addition to invasive removal, plant natives in their place to aid in restoring the landscape of the 11-acre plot.  I also work at Fairmount Park in the native plant nursery to propagate native plants for various uses around the city.  I have no time to myself or for anyone else, really.  I am also okay with this.

My pursuit to learn as much as I can about the world around me is infinite.  If you also enjoy such things, perhaps we ought to follow one another's blog.  If not, I may just get a good laugh at your expense and end up following you on this thing anyway.