Alaskan Portraits in Lichen

During our trip to Alaska, my Aunt Char and I visited Mendenhall Glacier with my brother, Dave and sister-in-law, Karen (see Alaska - The Last Frontier). I was curious about what species of lichen we would see so close to the glacier. I've been observing the lichen in our yard in the San Francisco Bay Area (see Portraits in Lichen and More Portraits in Lichen). How would they compare with lichen in a colder and wetter environment?

Map lichen (Rhizocarpon geographicum) the yellow thalli
Per iNaturalist, the pinkish organism to the right is a fungus (Anaptychia runcinata)

Orange lichen (Caloplaca spp.)

Some of the area around the glacier had been covered by ice over the last one or two hundred years while the glacier receded, so the exposed land is relatively "new" and lichen is slow growing. While pondering all of this and taking pictures of lichen, a stranger at the glacier humorously informed me that I was photographing a rock. Sigh. The mysteries of the universe were lost on him.

Orange boulder lichen detail (Porpidia flavocaerulescens)

Orange boulder lichen in community

I'm expanding my lichen vocabulary a bit, using the glossary in Casselman's Lichen Dyes: The New Source Book. Knowing a few terms can help you describe what you are seeing, and then find out more information. Some basics:

• apothecia - cusp-shaped disks on the upper cortex of the lichen that contain asci (spores).

• cortex - either surface of a lichen (top: dorsal or upper cortex; bottom: ventral or lower cortex).

• substrate - surface to which a lichen is attached, such as a rock or a tree.

• thallus - the entire lichen (plural "thalli").

These white lichens stand out against the dark granite boulders, but are difficult to identify. It is surprising how many species are growing together in communities over the glacial boulders.

Tile lichen (Lecidea tessellata)

White rim lichen (Lecanora rupicola)

After spending time with lichen in both the Bay Area and Juneau, Alaska, I think I need to get closer with a magnifying hand lens! Still, I had fun trying to identify the species we encountered.

Learn More:

• Alaska.org - a travel website dedicated to Alaska. Check out the resources, and search for "lichens" to learn more about the lichen species in Alaska (https://www.alaska.org/search?query=lichens).

• Lichens around Mendenhall Glacier, by Chiska C. Derr and Robert H. Armstrong. Nature Alaska Images, Juneau, Alaska, 2010. The authors describe what lichen is and is not, habitats, lifecycle, and how to identify them. I especially liked their quote from lichenologist Trevor Goward, “lichens are fungi that have taken up agriculture”. I was intrigued to learn that lichens that contain cyanobacteria are nitrogen fixers, so important for soil development.

• Lichen Dyes: The New Source Book, by Karen Diadick Casselman. Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola, New York (2001). This is a wonderful resource for the dyer wishing to extract dye from lichen. The glossary provides some succinct definitions relating to lichen.

• Lichens of Alaska's South Coast. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Alaska Region (R10-RG-190, Reprint April 2014). Photographs by Karen L. Dillman and drawings by Alexander Mikulin. Great photos, drawings, and descriptions of some of the Alaskan lichen we saw.

• Naturalist Trevor Goward Helps to Overturn a 150-Year-Old Truth of Science, by Erica Gies. Scientific American, June 1, 2017. This article provides more information about the discovery that yeast is a third partner, with fungus and alga (and/or cyanobacterium), for some lichen species. Goward is a naturalist working in British Columbia. Blog: Ways of Enlichenment.

• Southeast Alaska Fungi (including lichens). Google Photos is installed on my smartphone and it uses iNaturalist to identify plants and animals in the photos that I upload. This is typically how I start identifying what I photograph (but the app is not alway perfect and its operator is still learning)!

More Portraits in Lichen

I've been marvelling at the lichens in our yard this rainy season. With the ongoing and sustained moisture levels, they have flourished and expanded. Lichen is a composite of algae or cyanobacteria living among fungi species with yeast being a possible third partner. They all live together in a mutualistic relationship (we humans should take note of the possibilities). Here are a few more lichen shots from our yard (see Portraits in Lichen for more).

Lichen and moss living side by side on an old fence

Lichen and ivy sharing another fence
(the lichen is lignicolous - grows on wood stripped of bark) 

In previous years of drought, the lichen remained but was not as plumped up and spongy. With the extra water this year, the lichen is thriving.

This greenshield lichen thrives on an ancient rhodie branch

A saxicolous lichen (grows on rocks)

With our landscaping project this year, I'm concerned about preserving as much of the moss and lichen as possible. Lichen is very slow growing, and takes time to establish.

Lichen and moss flourish on an informal rock planter

Another saxicolous lichen

Even with my preservation plans, next year might be a prime time to experiment with dyeing with lichen. Reading Lichen Dyes: The New Source Book by Karen Diadick several years ago, piqued my interest in all the dye colors that lichen can produce, including shades of red, gold, brown, yellow, and purple. Even if the local lichens turn out to be colorless, lichen can also be used as a mordant. Until then, enjoy these portraits in lichen from our Bay Area yard.

Portraits in Lichen

The lichens in our yard are doing really well this season with all the extra moisture and dank days. From Wikipedia, "A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship." According to scientists at Purdue University, yeast may be a third partner that helps defend the colony. Lichens are slow-growing and just need a structure to support them. They make their own food, are not parasites, and do not carry disease.

A saxicolous lichen (grows on rocks),
visible from the kitchen window

Oakmoss lichen (Evernia prunastri),
found in the side yard

I've made an attempt to identify a few species in our yard, using Lichens of the SF Bay Area by iNaturalist. Some forms are very distinctive, and easy to identify. Others are very complex and difficult to distinguish for the beginner. They are colonies, afterall, so may grow in various combinations.

Green rock shield ? (Xanthoparmelia spp.)

Common greenshield lichen (Flavoparmelia caperata)

I found a few descriptive phrases that are handy to know while getting started. Saxicolous lichen grows on rocks; corticolous lichen grows on bark; lignicolous lichen grows on wood that is stripped of bark; and terricolous lichen grows on soil or the ground. Freshwater and marine lichens can occur submerged or in varying water levels. Foliose lichens produce leaf-like flattened, lobed thallus; fruticose lichens grow erect with visible fruiting bodies; and crustose lichens form a crust over their host. With those terms you can at least start describing what you see!

A saxicolous lichen (grows on rocks)

A lignicolous lichen (grows on wood stripped of bark)

I plan to protect these beautiful specimens as much as I can during our landscaping project. They add a lot of character to the yard, and are interesting to observe over time. I also have plans to use some specimens in future dye projects, to see if they yield any interesting colors. Hope you've enjoyed these portraits in lichen.

Historical Plant Dyes

Various plant dye sources have been used since ancient history. Pliny the Elder recorded information about dyes in the 100s,  monks recorded information in the middle ages, and the Linnaeus Apostles recorded information in the 1700s.

Following is a short list of common plants used historically for dyeing. Note that the original color of the plant material is no predictor of the dye color. Dyeing is a fine mix of chemistry and artistry, from the fixatives and mordants used to bind the dye to the fiber, to the base or acidity of the water, to the season when the dye source is gathered. Notice that several of the Latin plant names include a variation of the word "tinctorium", which indicates the plant is a known dye source.

Plant	Description	Notes
Madder (Rubia tinctorum)	Dried root	Red
Indigo (Indigo tinctoria)	Leaves and stems	Deep blue (appears green in the vat, then turns blue when exposed to the air). For green, dye yellow first, then indigo).
Dyer's weld (Reseda luteola)	Leaves and flowers	Yellow
Woad (Isatis tinctoria)	Leaves	Pastel blue (the color of France).
Brazil wood (Caesalpinia sp.)	Heartwood	Red
Osage (Maclura pomifera)	Fruit	Orange
Cochineal (Dactylopius coccus)	Scale insect harvested from cactus	Red
Buckthorn (Rhamnus tinctoria)	Fruit	Yellow
Lichen (various)	Organism	Shades of apricot, yellow, gold, brown, blue, purple, black and green, depending on the fungi species.
Black walnut (Juglans nigra)	Walnut hulls	Brown

This is not an exhaustive list of plant-based dyes. Humans are an innovative lot, and have used a variety of dyes throughout history, both from local sources and through trade. But it is a good start for our purposes. We'll learn more about some of these natural dye sources that have been used throughout history, as well as a few others.

Lichen

Many people become concerned when they see lichen growing on their trees, wondering if their tree has a disease. However, lichen, like moss, is not a plant parasite. Instead, the lichen is using the structure of the tree for physical support, but is not tapping the tree for its nutrients.

Lichen and moss hitching a ride on a Rhododendron

Lichen is a composite organism, which consists of a fungus and a photosynthetic partner (such as green alga or cyanobacterium) growing together in a symbiotic relationship. This organism produces its own food via photosynthesis, and absorbs moisture from the environment.

Lichen is a composite organism, but not a plant parasite

The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) site indicates that you can use herbicidal soaps to control mosses, lichens, and algae. But, personally, I like the look of lichen and moss growing naturally on trees.