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LICHENS: MYSTERIOUS FUNGI of the FOREST

Dr. Katherine Glew will lead a lichen tour in the Cedar River Watershed, east of Seattle, to introduce you to the fascinating lichens of the forest. If you have wondered about what a lichen is and why they are in the forest, this will be a great opportunity to view the lichen diversity in the watershed and learn the names of our most common species. There will be a short classroom session, followed by visits in the watershed, identifying and studying specimens collected from various forest habitats.

Date: Sunday, May 26, 2019

Time: 10am to 3pm

Location: Exit 32 from I-90, 17905 Cedar Falls Rd SE, North Bend, WA

Bring: a hand lens/magnifying glass and "Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest" - McCune & Geiser

Cost: $25

Registration:  Not yet posted. Keep a watch on:

http://www.seattle.gov/util/EnvironmentConservation/OurWatersheds/CedarRiverWatershed/ProgramsTours/index.htm

Programs and Tours - Natural History 2019.

This field trip is part of the 2019 Washington Native Plant Society (WNPS) Study Weekend. You must be a member to participate.

We will walk through a maritime forest to the summit of Goose Rock (by Deception Pass), viewing lichens along the way. Many lichens will be found in along the trail and forest floor. There are several locations with lichen mats (Cladonia sp., reindeer lichen) worth stopping for study. We will find lichens that grow on salal leaves (Gualtheria shallon) – folicolous lichens (Fellhanera sp.). The exposed summit site includes a number of lichens that are typically associated with alpine habitats. There will be many crustose species on the rocks and others growing amongst the vegetation. Goose Rock summit will provide a fantastic opportunity to see lichen diversity and learn some of the more common species found in the area. The view is spectacular. Bring a camera or use your smart phone to take images of the islands and lichens. A hand lens or magnifying glass will enhance your lichen experience.

Description for WNPS Study Weekend 

https://www.wnps.org/events/395

Scroll to the bottom of the posting and click on:

1. SW 2019-field-trip-descriptions.1.2319

This is a pdf.

Lichen Field Trip Number 111

The Rockport Interpretive Center, along Hwy 20 in Washington State, will host a presentation on lichens by Dr. Katherine Glew, Associate Curator from the University of Washington Herbarium, Burke Museum of Natural History.

Dr. Glew will introduce lichens through photos and live material. The importance of lichens in the forest and all environments will be discussed. We will walk through the forest to view lichens​ on rocks and hanging from trees.

Fun lichen facts will be shared, such as using them for creating the dyes in Scottish kilts and the making of lichen schnapps in Iceland. Did you know that lichens can be used as indicators of air pollution? They also have medicinal properties that have been use over centuries. Join me in discovering these fascinating fungi that form partnerships with green algae and cyanobacteria.

The event will happen between 11 and 2pm.

Bring a hand lens/magnifying glass, water and a snack. Dress for rain - frequently occurring in Rockport at that time of the year.  ;-)

For more information, visit:

https://www.facebook.com/events/391966341383844/?notif_t=event_calendar_create¬if_id=1549127625522644

or

Fourth item down.

http://parks.state.wa.us/calendar.aspx?view=list&year=2019&month=2&day=16 

Hello Northwest Lichenologists and enthusiasts,

It is that time of year again – the call for contributions to the 2019 Northwest Lichenologists Newsletter!

We would like to see contributions from the following areas:

Personals
Recent publications and web sites
Results from forays and field trips
Upcoming workshops/courses offered
New and interesting lichen species
Project descriptions and results – current and proposed
Short communications, articles

Short biographies

Lichen jobs being advertised for the upcoming year

We encourage interesting photos or links to web sites. If you would like to submit a short paper, keep in mind that it must already be edited for spelling and punctuation. As editors, we work on the formatting of submissions for the newsletter. We cannot accept papers that need grammatical revising.

Besides the above suggestions, we will consider anything relating to northwest lichenology that you can think of – including artwork, poetry, photography, etc.

Please send your submissions to Scot Loring <gniroltocs@hotmail.com> 

Submissions will generally be placed in their applicable section of the newsletter in the order received. Please pass this e-mail on if you know of someone who is interested but does not receive postings on NWL servers. We would like to receive any submissions by March 1, 2019.  Any entries received after that date will likely be placed in the 2020 newsletter.  Apologies for any multiple copies of this message, as we use multiple mailing lists.

Sincerely,

Scot Loring

Editor

http://northwest-lichenologists.wildapricot.org/

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SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2019 – SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2019

The Opal Creek old-growth forest provides prime habitat for hundreds of species of lichens, mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. Lichens and bryophytes are invaluable to forest ecosystems – and many species are only found in the ancient forests of the Pacific Northwest. Join us in investigating these extraordinary species that merit greater attention as indicators of air quality and forest health. This workshop is well-suited to expand upon a baseline knowledge of lichens and bryophytes, and will be particularly helpful for professionals in the field.

www.opalcreek.org to register

See the photo of the "postcard" in the photo section!

Daphne Stone will teach a 3-day class delving into the genus Usnea at Siskiyou Field Institute, 10-12 April, 2019. The class will use specimens and her new booklet illustrating Usnea species, and we will go on several field trips. To register contact SFI.

Daphne Stone will lead her annual Lichen Walk at Mt. Pisgah Arboretum near Eugene on 16 February 2019 from 10-12, rain or shine. Free to members, small charge for non-members.

01 Jan 2019 8:53 AM | Bruce McCune (Administrator)

The NW Lichenologists calendar for next year is now available.

The coming year's calendar highlights the spectacular photography of Jason Hollinger with entertaining and informative captions by Jason and Nastassja Noell. Plus they provide short bios for five historical figures important in the development of lichenology in western North America.

This 11 x 8.5 inch wall calendar, opening to 11 x 17 inches, has one month per page and a photo of a charismatic lichen on the facing page. This is a limited edition, first come, first serve. A list of lichens included is given on the NWL website's calendar page.

We have a new offering from NW Lichenologists, a handy, compact guide to Usnea in our region.

See below for a general description and the Store section of the NWL website for more details. Note also that we have a limited time discount if you order the 2019 calendar and the booklet together.

Enjoy!

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Usnea in the Pacific Northwest,  Aide Mémoire

by Daphne Fisher Stone, illustrated by Hannah Wilson and Rachel Werling

ISBN: 978-0-9790737-3-1 (pbk.)

Cost: $12 per copy + $3 for domestic shipping and handling for 1-10 copies. (For example, 3 copies would be 3 * $12 + $3 = $39. One copy is $15 including shipping.

Inspired by an "Aide Mémoire" booklet produced by the British Lichen Society, this booklet provides a compact reference to Usnea in the Pacific Northwest with black and white line drawings, identification tips, and more. It should be useful to professionals and beginners alike. At the top of each page is a general statement about where the species is found in the Pacific Northwest. Each page shows several sketches. At the top left is an “icon” intended to show the general growth form. The icons used are tufted and bushy; pendulous without fibrils; pendulous with fibrils; and several with a special form or coloration, including Usnea lambii, U. longissima, and U. silesiaca. On the top right is an illustration of a large branch, cut in half lengthwise and also cut across the branch. This shows the relative thickness of the cortex (C), medulla (M), and axis (A), a useful tool for identification. Below the first two sketches are one or two sketches showing characters on main and secondary branches. A few words indicate characters that are typical of the species, such as soralia shape, isidia, papillae, and dents in the main branches. You may notice that on most species I do not describe branching patterns. This is because most Usnea thalli that are collected are not perfect, mature thalli, so branching patterns are not usually obvious. The bottom of each page lists similar species and some differences between them and the highlighted species. At the end of the booklet is an illustrated glossary.