Whitefish Point lichens

I love scouring the sand dunes and old logs for lichens. A particular group that are both interesting and fun are those in the genus Cladonia. Many of them are what people know as “British soldiers caps.” These are small rarely more than 20-25mm tall and capped with red.

Sometimes the British soldiers caps are mixed in with “Pixie cups,” another group within Cladonia.

Pixie cups are common on our property (as are British soldiers caps). Both become visible as the snow melts.

While many times they are mixed in with British soldiers caps, Pixie cups can often be found dominating a patch of sand.

When you zoom in on individual stems you might notice small colored reproductive bodies on the “rim of the cup.” You also start to notice other lichens, frequently members of the genus Cladina, the “Reindeer lichens.”

More later…