How I Discovered Lichens

sunlight, and they would dry up on exposed rocks. So, the fungus shelters the alga, soaks up moisture and shares it through membranes to the alga, and the alga produces carbohydrates and gives some back to the fungus. As a general rule, these fungi do not destroy the algae they have "captured" and cannot reproduce without them.

More than 3,600 species of lichens have been identified in North America, and more than 15,000 species world-wide. They live almost everywhere, from hot, dry deserts, to tropical rain forests, to arctic tundra. They attach themselves to soil, on trees, on rocks, on tombstones and buildings, and even on other lichens. These surfaces are called substrates. A few can grow in fresh water and others are not attached to anything and may blow along in the wind like tumbleweeds. Each kind of lichen must have the right amount of moisture, sunlight and air, just as plants do.

When I first became interested in lichens, it seemed that not much information was available for an untrained person like myself. Over the last few years, that has improved and I've enjoyed using a variety of resources to learn some basic lessons about lichens. Some good web sites provide introductory information (see references below). I took advantage of a two day seminar offered by the Rocky Mountain Nature Association at Rocky Mountain National Park, with lectures and field trips led by two excellent lichenologists, Roger Rosentreter and Ann DeBolt. (Another lichen seminar is scheduled for August 2002.)

I treated myself to a copy of Lichens of North America, published by Yale University Press. This is a 795 page book, 9"x11" pages, with 939 color photos of lichens by Sylvia and Steven Sharnoff that are truly spectacular. The text was written by Irwin M. Brodo with contributions from a long list of experts in lichenology. If you are seriously interested in lichens, this one is worth the investment. The web site, Lichens of North America, (one of my Five Best web sites), will provide you with a very generous sample of the photos and information in the book.

I do have a macro lens now and it does make a difference on the detail in my photos. I can get an even better view by putting the photos on the computer. Here is a magnified look at part of that same lichen colony I discovered on a cold winter

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