#Lecanora sierrae

[lichenaday]

Lecanora sierrae

Sierra rim lichen

You know those weird, poignant memories that stick out in our head for no particular reason? One of mine is waking up on the choir bus driving over the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was a bus of like, 50+ teenagers and it was probably around 2 AM, and it was dead quiet. I had been passed out on the floor and I woke up and looked out the window at the walls of snow on either side of the road, and the stars overhead, and it was so cold and still. It was a weird, wired sort of peace, surrounded by sleeping bodies in this beautiful, frozen world gliding gently past. Looking at the absolutely stunning L. sierrae and reading its name reminded me of that moment, and I was back there once again. Lichens may appear as frozen in time as that memory, but really they are  in constant motion, moving and changing and growing and adapting to the world around them--just like I did, going from awkward choir kid to awkward lichen scientist! It may be at a slower pace than us, but that doesn’t mean we should overlook their existence! Like, you may notice that the thallus coloration of L. sierrae varies in these pictures from brown to light green to bluish. They bluish color is actually indicative of an accumulation of copper and selenium in its thallus from nearby mining operations! Providing us with an environmental indicator of heavy metal pollution. A memory of the past actions of humans splashed across its surface, changed by each and every experience it has. Like us. 

images: source | source 

info: source | source

[anthropocenesketchbook]

Enjoying lichens in the eastern Sierra. #lichen #yellowcobblestonelichen #acarosporasocialis #rimlichen #lecanora #camouflagelichen #melanelia #orangerockposy #rhizoplacachrysoleuca #travelsketching #sciart #easternsierra https://www.instagram.com/p/BqjQ-Z5BhDF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zmym12yhw9jb