What’s Not to Like about Lichens?
“There is a low mist in the woods — It is a good day to study lichens.”
Henry David Thoreau
When rain falls here in the Nantahala Forest, the woods become misty and magical. These are the days that bring lichens to life!
On dry, sunny days, I barely notice the gray-green crusts, scales, curls, and tendrils that adorn trees from their trunks to their uppermost branches. Likewise, it’s easy to ignore the patches of muted yellow, rust, brown, and black that cover fallen branches, wooden timbers, and jagged rocks.
But somehow, mysteriously, rain showers plump these lichenized formations with moisture and ramp up their vibrancy to Technicolor levels.
A few quick Google searches inform me that worldwide, there are about 17,000 different species of lichens, with more than 1,200 of them found here in the Western North Carolina mountains.
And here’s what else I now know…
- The more I’m learnin’, the more I’m likin’ lichens!
- Even though some lichens resemble mosses, lichens are not plants. They are complex living organisms comprised of algae or cyanobacteria and one or two fungi which function together in a symbiotic relationship. The fungi provide structure, but they’re unable to conduct photosynthesis for food – that’s the job of their algae and cyanobacteria counterparts.
- Lichens have fun names. My 7-year-old woods-wise grandson introduced me to bushy beard, which is just one of many bearded varieties. Other common names for lichens include shape-shifting pixie, ghost antler, stippleback, gold dust, yellow ruffle, fringed moon, tattered jellyskin, and string-of-sausage.
- Rain does indeed transform lichens. When drab-colored fungal cells get wet, they become transparent. And voilà! The vivid algal or cyanobacterial cells underneath are revealed.
- Lichens are good for nature. Because lichenized fungi can photosynthesize, they do not draw energy from the trees or harm them in any way. Lichens make great nesting materials for birds and provide food and habitats for a number of forest-dwelling animals. They also help clean the air by absorbing pollutants.
- Lichens have been put to good use by humans around the world. In fact, there’s a cool word for “the study of the relationship between lichens and people”: ethnolichenology. Historically, lichens have been used for dyes, medicines, perfumes, food, and even embalming. Here in the NC mountains, certain beard lichens are still harvested for medicinal tinctures because they contain usnic acid, an antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal agent.
I’m no lichenologist, but this is what I have personally discovered: Whenever I stop and pay closer attention to the natural wonders that surround us, my curiosity and appreciation grows. And, like Thoreau, I delight in the anticipation of a misty-day walk in the woods.
“At first glance, they look messy and undeserving of attention. On closer inspection, they are astonishingly beautiful. They can look like flecks of peeling paint, or coralline branches, or dustings of powder, or lettuce-like fronds, or wriggling worms, or cups that a pixie might drink from.”
