Mosses are not particularly competitive; they do not crowd out other species. They find a foothold where there are the proper resources: moisture, a place to tuck their rhizoid roots. The range from which they can acquire nourishment is limited. Humans are on the opposite end of that spectrum, able to move resources long distances, at increasingly devastating costs to one another and to ecosystems.
Tag: lichen
Ask the Naturalist
If the Green Stuff in the California Trees Is Not Spanish Moss, What Is It?
They’re long and stringy and they hang from trees in the fog zone …
Winter Issue 2016
Identifying With Lichen
In which California is the first state to have a state lichen.
Winter Issue 2015
Stephen Sharnoff Shares the Secrets of the Lichen World
Nobody knows California’s incredible, diverse lichens like Stephen Sharnoff, author of the new A Field Guide to California Lichens.
Ask the Naturalist
How Can You Tell If a Lichen Is Dead?
Lichens by nature are mottled and brittle looking. So how do you know when they are dead?
Fungi
Looking for Lichens in Knowland Park
Oakland’s Knowland Park boasts unparalleled views of the San Leandro Bay, gnarled coast live oak trees and stands of rare, maritime chaparral. But within this large landscape, one of nature’s smallest communities is flourishing—lichen.
Fall Issue 2013
Flying Lichens, Like Old Man’s Beard, Find a Way to Live on Air
Lichens are not so much a taxonomic category as a way of life; as lichenologist Trevor Goward put it, “Lichens are fungi that have discovered agriculture.”
Fall Issue 2013
Naturalist’s Notebook: Discover the Jungle on San Bruno Mountain
Hidden biodiversity beneath a canopy of coyote bush on a windswept ridge of San Bruno Mountain
Winter Issue 2002
Often-Overlooked Lichens are Essential to the Bay Area’s Environment
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.
