Posts Tagged ‘lichens’
in the shelter of the covered bridge – lichens on the Benton Bridge
Some of the species found growing ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’ are unexpected. The Benton Bridge (Eel River #2) in west-central New Brunswick offered a few surprises.
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The Benton Bridge, built in 1927, crosses the Eel River at Benton, York County. The bridge is in an open area of houses, hay fields and a picnic park. A huge lilac at the end of the bridge was busy with hawk mothshttps ( https://janetims.com/2015/06/10/in-the-shelter-of-the-covered-bridge-hummingbird-moths/) . And Stonefly nymphs, an indicator of excellent water quality, covered the boards on the side and end of the bridge ( https://janetims.com/2015/06/08/in-the-shelter-of-the-covered-bridge-stonefly-nymphs/ ). But, to me, the most interesting discovery was on the upstream side of the bridge.
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On the north-east facing outside wall, two species of lichen grew:
Boreal oakmoss (Evernia mesomorpha) and burred horsehair (Bryoria furcellata). These are common lichens, usually found on trees in open coniferous woods or on scraggy trees in bogs. Perhaps they like the coolness and humidity offered by this side of the bridge! I am so grateful to Stephen Clayden of the New Brunswick Museum for identifying and commenting on these lichens.
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on the north-east wall
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Benton Bridge
Eel River #3
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on the shaded side of the covered bridge
the walls are clothed, furred
in lichen
boreal oakmoss
yellow-grey and goose-fleshed
(Evernia mesomorpha)
burred horsehair
bristled, toasted and tangled
(Bryoria furcellata)
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they thrive on the weathered boards
from eaves to river they follow
the runnel ways of damp
cool on the dark side of the bridge
bark and branches their usual home
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Copyright Jane Tims 2016
lichens on the snow
As you may know, we are still under a blanket of snow here in New Brunswick. And later today a Nor’easter is predicted to bring another 30 cm. Not the best place for collecting plants as dyestuff. But, as I always find – nature provides!
Our windy weather this past week has dropped lots of Old Man’s Beard lichen (Usnea subfloridana) along our driveway. These lichens grow in the maple and spruce trees on our property but usually they grow too high to reach. I was able to collect quite a handful.
And now my experiment begins.
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Lichens have been used for centuries as a source of dye. The Roccella species, for example, makes a purple dye called orchil. I may not get purple from my Usnea lichens, but I am ‘dyeing’ to try!
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The typical extraction process for lichens is called ‘ammonia fermentation’ – soaking the lichens in ammonia for two or three weeks. Lichens also yield dye with boiling. I have decided to try the ammonia method first, although I will not use urine as was traditionally done!
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So I stuffed the Usnea lichens into a canning jar, added water and a tablespoon of ammonia, labelled the jar and put it on the shelf.
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And now we wait. I’ll let you know what, if any, colour develops. I feel like a housewife of old, wanting some dyestuff to add colour to my life, willing to make do with what is available.
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
islands and gorges (day 13 and 14)
My virtual bike ride continues with a ride from Blackland to Belledune …
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distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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8-13 February 5, 2014 20 minutes 3.0 km (Blackland to Sea Side)
8-14 February 8, 2014 35 minutes 7.0 km (Sea Side to west of Belledune)
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As I have said, I have often visited the area I am ‘biking’ through as part of my past work. In the 1970s and 1980s, we visited many sites in the area to measure the levels of air pollutants in local lichens. We collected lichens of the genus Cladina (reindeer lichens) since they absorb all of their nutrition from the air and air pollutants accumulate in their tissues …
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species of the lichen ‘Cladina’ grow in tufts on high elevation, rocky areas and in low-lying bogs
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One of our sampling locations was Heron Island, an island 3.5 km long, lying just off the coast …
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satellite image of Heron Island (map from Google Earth)
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I have been on the island several times … it was a good place to collect lichens since there are not many local emissions to contaminate the sample (no cars, dusty roads, and so on).
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The island is a landscape of low-lying salt marsh and beach as well as forested and grown-over old-field areas. On the boat on the way to the island, I remember watching scallop fishermen working on their barges in the shallow waters. Although people have lived on the island as recently as 1940, the island is now protected and co-managed by the provincial government and First Nations peoples who have traditionally used the island as a summer residence.
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Today’s painting is of a rather stormy day along the bay shore just east of Heron Island …
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February 11, 2014 ‘Baie des Chaleurs’ Jane Tims
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Also in the area where I was ‘biking’ is the very hilly landscape of the Jacquet River. The high elevation plateau has been deeply eroded by the Jacquet River – the river and its tributaries flow through deep gorges. The 26,000 hectare ‘Jacquet River Gorge’ is one of New Brunswick’s Protected Natural Areas. Reaching the locations of our lichen collections took us deep into the area and I remember how steep the hills (and the roads) were as we went to our collection sites.
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February 17, 2014 ‘lower Jacquet River’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
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