#xylographa parallela

[blogbirdfeather]

Xylographa parallela

Sintra/Portugal (23/11/2023)

[Nikon D850; AF 105mm Micro-Nikkor F2,8 with Circular Flash Nissin  MF 18; 1/250s; F14; 400 ISO]

[lichenaday]

Xylographa parallela

Black woodscript lichen

Some lichens are obviosuly like, a thing TM. But lots of lichens are extremely discrete--like you probably see them all the time and don't realize that they are anything, nonetheless the incredible symbiotic super organisms they are! X. parallela grows immersed in rotting logs, stumps, fenceposts, and wooden rails, and is usually only visible as ellipsoid, discolored stains or small blisters following the pattern of the wood grain. If you notice it at all, you would probably think it's just normal rot or weathering. And then if you recognize that it's a lichen, it is extremely difficult to identify from other members of the genus. But in general, it can be recognized by its yellow to dark brown-black, linear ascomata which are longer than they are wide and develop in clusters, brown gonicysts (asexual propagules) speckling the surface, and habitat of growing on conifers in arctic-alpine and boreal habitats. Now that you know what you are looking for, you will start to see lichens like X. paralella everywhere, trust me. And how great is that? Getting to see little friends everywhere you go. It makes the world both so much bigger and so much more familiar than you have ever imagined.

images: source | source

info: source | source

[botanyshitposts]

9/28/2018

-spent the entire time trying to key out ANOTHER elusive crustose lichen. almost got a confirmation at one point...and then I looked up the species and it looked NOTHING like mine!! gonna table it for now

gonna make a list of all the lichen species i identify in this project so starting here:

9/14/2018

-Cladonia bellidiflora

-Cladonia symphycarpa (neglegable)

-Cladonia asahinae (first sample of this species in our herbarium!)