Thin broken overcast for much of the day. Temperatures in the 30s.
I stopped to watch from the kelp patch pullout today. Juncos and sparrows visited where I’ve scattered food periodically. Out on the water I saw a Horned Puffin and Pigeon Guillemot.
Nothing was really capturing my attention for photos, so I decided to go by Baranof Street Cemetery and make some observations of lichens.
After posting on iNaturalist, I learned this is a recently described species, split out from S. fuliginosa (which is what I had thought it was)
Today I happened to notice one that looked different to me. I’ve probably simply overlooked in the past on the several occasions I’ve looked at the trees where it was growing. I almost did so today, because it had the appearance of bits of shredded or decayed material on the tree trunk.
Although I was looking right where it was growing, I almost didn't notice this lichen as something distinct. It turned out to be a new species for me
It turned out to be the dendriscocauloid form Dendriscosticta gelia, a new species for me. Apparently it grows in this shrubby form when associated with cyanobacteria, and a more leafy form when associating with algae.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
