Elizabeth Rush

Elizabeth Rush is a freelance nature writer living in Los Altos Hills. She has written for California Wild, Outdoor California, Fremontia, Pacific Horticulture, and other publications. She thanks Janet Doell and other members of the California Lichen Society for their invaluable assistance.

Often-Overlooked Lichens are Essential to the Bay Area’s Environment

January 1, 2002 • by Elizabeth Rush

Is it a mushroom? A moss? Bacterial scum? Trod on underfoot or passed by in blissful ignorance, lichens are perhaps the least understood element of the Bay Area landscape. But they are everywhere. And when we look closely at them, a colorful and diverse world opens up before our eyes.