Guardian Nature School Team Contact Blog Project Noah Facebook Project Noah Twitter

A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife

Join Project Noah!
nature school apple icon

Project Noah Nature School visit nature school

Lace Lichen

Ramalina menziesii

Description:

Lace lichen can have different shapes and forms. These were 2 cm wide and 8 cm long strips with branching on the margins. Light pale in color.

Habitat:

Spotted on the ground from being blown out of the trees from the wind. The strip of conifers where the lichen originated where close by. This lichen is found mostly along the west coast of North America and within a couple hundred meters of the coast line.

Notes:

Lace lichen is an important food source for coastal deer, and a source of nest building material for birds.

Species ID Suggestions



Sign in to suggest organism ID

11 Comments

Great find Brian,congrats on the SOTD and thanks for sharing

Michael Strydom
Michael Strydom 5 years ago

Congrats!!! Great SOTD

Brian38
Brian38 5 years ago

Thank you Sukanya.

SukanyaDatta
SukanyaDatta 5 years ago

Congratulations, Brian!

Brian38
Brian38 5 years ago

Thank you Hema and Sarah for your kind words. Thank you Daniele for making this lichen SOTD. I thought it was awesome that California had made this lichen their "state lichen ".

SarahWhitt
SarahWhitt 5 years ago

Way to go, Brian!! CONGRATS!! :)

DanielePralong
DanielePralong 5 years ago

Congratulations Brian, your fascinating Lace Lichen is our Spotting of the Day:

"Lichens can grow is a variety of shapes, and our Spotting of the Day, the Lace Lichen (Ramalina menziesii), is itself highly variable. Sometimes its branches are tiny slender lace-like strands, sometimes as seen here it grows into broadly flattened branches. Lichens play an important role in many ecosystems. Sensitive to air pollution and climate, lichens are being used to monitor air quality and climate change. Lichens are also a source of nutrition for animals, and lace lichen is an important food source for coastal deer along the North American west coast. The lace lichen is the California State Lichen, making California the first state in the US to recognize a lichen as a state symbol".

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/projectnoah/pho...

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/projectnoah/status/1...

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 5 years ago

Great find and observation!I might have mistook this for soggy paper.

SarahWhitt
SarahWhitt 5 years ago

Good job, Brian!! Interesting.....the things we find!! :)

Brian38
Brian38 5 years ago

Thanks Sarah! It really is a fascinating lichen. It's the first time I've come across this one - so my research time took way too long!

SarahWhitt
SarahWhitt 5 years ago

Those are cool!! They resemble bark "peelings" from a birch tree.

Brian38
Spotted by
Brian38

Washington, USA

Spotted on Dec 8, 2018
Submitted on Dec 17, 2018

Related Spottings

Ramalina farinacea Liquen / Lichen lace lichen Lace Lichen

Nearby Spottings

Map lichen Turkish Towel Lace lichen Common Loon
Noah Guardians
Noah Sponsors
join Project Noah Team

Join the Project Noah Team