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Christmas wreath lichen

Herpothallon rubrocinctum or Cryptothecia rubrocincta ?

Description:

This looks pink/red and white on the bark of trees. "Cryptothecia rubrocincta is easily recognized by the bright red pigment in the thallus....A 2005 study employed the technique Raman spectroscopy to determine the chemical composition of the differently colored zones. The white crystalline zone contains calcium oxalate dihydrate, or weddellite, a chemical substance found in other lichens and extremophiles growing on calcium-rich surfaces. Some have suggested that the calcium oxalate serves in the organism's survival strategy: the storage of water as a crystalline hydrate is essential for periods of drought in desiccated environments, and calcium oxalate has been identified as dissuading herbivores.[28] Because the lichen grows on calcium-poor surfaces, calcium ions are thought to be acquired from rain, bird droppings, and airborne particles.[18] The chemicals in the red-colored zone include an aromatic quinone, beta-carotene, and chlorophyll. The quinone is deep-red colored pigment chiodectonic acid, thought to function as a radiation protectant; in combination with beta-carotene, which has an established role in cellular DNA repair following exposure of the organism to UV-damage, such radiation protectants are often found in lichens and in extremophilic situations and are essential for survival.[18] The lighter-colored pink zone, located on the inside of the red zone, contains a mixture of chiodectonic acid, beta-carotene and calcium oxalate dihydrate, the red and white mixture of the chiodectonic acid and the calcium oxalate giving rise to the characteristically lighter color.[18] The elliptical brown-colored flecks, which can be observed in both the red and pink zones of the thallus, are made of confluentic acid and calcium oxalate monohydrate. The monohydrate is thought to be a more chemically stable metabolic byproduct of calcium oxalate dihydrate; the function of confluentic acid in the brown flecks is unclear.[18]"-Wikipedia

Habitat:

Tree bark along the marsh areas along the freshwater creek, spring fed in part and runoff in others. There is a nature walk , called Turkey Creek Walk, in the marsh area in and around the mouth of Turkey Creek which flows into Boggy Bayou which flows into Choctawhatchee Bay which flows into the Gulf of Mexico or through the Destin East Pass and then to the Gulf of Mexico.

Notes:

This lichen was pointed out to me when I was in Jacksonville, Florida by a ranger. She said that this lichen indicated that the air quality was clear and clean from pollutants. She said this type of lichen indicated low or no levels of air pollution since it dies when pollution is in the air. I thought she called it blood lichen, and the name stuck. I started the search at blood lichen, and found that was not red/pink. I got to this site and found two names. I don't know enough about the naming system or the types of lichen to know the differences...but I'm reading. Any help is appreciated. http://earthsky.org/biodiversity/a-censu...

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HeatherMiller
Spotted by
HeatherMiller

Florida, USA

Spotted on Jul 19, 2011
Submitted on Jul 20, 2011

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