Lichen update

In a post a month ago I showed what I initially thought was Spanish moss, Tillandsia usneoides, at Monument Hill State Historic Site in La Grange, Texas. Bill Dodd added a comment in which he said he thought I’d actually photographed a so-called beard lichen, Usnea trichodea. On January 3rd of this year, on my first photo outing for 2017, I drove back to the site in La Grange and confirmed that Bill was right about my having photographed a lichen and not an epiphytic vascular plant. I invite you to check out the updated version of December’s post.

On the way back from La Grange I stopped at a scenic overlook on TX 71 east of Smithville and found some very different lichens growing on heavy stones along the road that circles the rest area. As today’s image I’ve included a photograph showing some of those much more colorful lichens.

© 2017 Steven Schwartzman