The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Rain, sun, wind...insects, birds, flowers...meteorites, rocks...seasonal changes...all are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
Frog Pelt (
Peltigera neopolydactyla) is a lichen common in shady forest areas of the maritime Pacific Northwest. It's that grayish leafy stuff in a bed of moss.
I've been restricted to walking lately in my nature excursions but one upside of that has been looking at what's along my local route one day after the next. Because of that I caught the brief fruiting interval of Frog Pelt. The bright orange lobes along the margin of the lichen "leaf" are fruiting bodies (or "apothecia") of the fungal partner in the lichen. After spores are released from the orange structure there's a critical moment for them out on whatever forest surface they land on:
The spores come only from the fungal partner and do not contain any algal cells. They may germinate after being shed from the fruiting body, but they will only be able to form a new lichen if they happen to make contact with a suitable algal partner. Without the alga, the germinating spore will die, as the fungus cannot survive on its own.
- Lichens
Here they are on Feb 26th:
and on Feb 28th, below. Note that the orange has faded, the spores released (by yesterday the lichens were all back to grayish-green). Between the 26th and the 28th we did have some light rain here, so their chances are as good as they can be.
It's much more common for lichens to reproduce vegetatively, but sexual reproduction is essential for variation within a species and evolution.
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This late Bucket is open for your observations. The sun has come out here in the Pacific Northwest so I'll be out and about, responding to comments intermittently. What's up in your natural neighborhood?
"Spotlight on Green News & Views" is posted every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific Time and Wednesday at 3:30 on the Daily Kos front page. It's a great way to catch up on diaries you might have missed. Be sure to recommend and comment in the diary.
(All photos by me. In Lightbox...click to enlarge)