Janet Doell and Darrell Wright
Sixty-one macrolichen species are reported from the Preserve which is a biological field station of Stanford University. Particular attention is paid to the secondary product chemistry of several difficult taxa. Notes are provided on the macrolichens as possible monitors of air quality at the Preserve.
The 1200 acres that make up Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve (JRBP) are part of Stanford University's large holdings and lie in San Mateo County, 50 km south of San Francisco and within minutes of the main campus. The accessibility, mild climate, and rich diversity of terrain and vegetation on the Preserve have provided the University with a convenient research area and have also attracted scientists from all over the country and from abroad. JRBP has been in constant use by researchers for over a hundred years, although it was not formally designated a biological preserve until 1973. The senior author has been a docent at the Preserve since 1982.
The Preserve is in the outer Coast Ranges 15 km from the Pacific Ocean at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains, which rise to 650 m 3 km to the west, shielding the area to a considerable extent from oceanic influence. The climate is Mediterranean with warm dry summers and mild wet winters (mean summer maximum temperature is 28.1° C; mean winter minimum 4.3° C; data are for 1974-1996 from the JRBP weather station). Rainfall averages 560 mm/yr and is heaviest between November and March. Elevation at the Preserve varies from 70 to 200 m with significant diversity of microclimate. Rocks are Jurassic Franciscan sandstone, greenstone (volcanic) and serpentine with extensive overlays of Tertiary marine and Quaternary non-marine sediments (Jennings and Burnett 1961).
Prehistorically, the Preserve lands were used by the Ohlone tribe of Native American hunters and gatherers. Historical land use included lumbering (c. 1850 to 1916) and cattle ranching (1830's to 1960). The lumbering town of Searsville existed in the southwest corner of the Preserve lands from 1844 to 1892, but was abandoned when the local water company dammed San Francisquito Creek to produce Searsville Lake. The purchase of the lands by Stanford University was completed in 1916.
Albert W.C.T. Herre appears to have made the first lichen collections from the area on "Searsville Ridge" or "the ridge between Searsville and Stanford" (Herre 1910). Specialized lichen studies were carried out at the Preserve by Adams et al. (1993), Rundel (1974) and Sanders (1989, 1992). Undergraduate work relating to the lichens was done by Nakayama (1973) and McClure (1976). Our study is the first lichen inventory for the Preserve.
All of the major vascular plant communities (Munz 1959) of the Central Western California floristic region except those along the seashore are present on the Preserve (see map, fig. 1):
Oak Woodland: Quercus agrifolia Née, Q. douglasii Hook. & Arn., Q. kelloggii Newb., Q. lobata Née and Aesculus californica (Spach) Nutt. with Candelaria, Cladonia, Collema, Evernia, Flavopunctelia, Physcia, Physconia, Ramalina and Usnea.
Mixed Evergreen Forest: Arbutus menziesii Pursh, Umbellularia californica (Hook. & Arn.) Nutt. and the Oak Woodland species except Quercus douglasii; the macrolichen flora is similar to that of the Oak Woodland.
Chaparral: Adenostoma fasciculatum Hook. & Arn., Baccharis pilularis DC., Cercocarpus betuloides Torrey & A. Gray and Quercus durata Jepson with Cladonia, Flavopunctelia, Hypogymnia, Parmelia, Physcia, Ramalina and Xanthoria.
Redwood groves: Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl. and Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco with Cladonia and Peltigera.
Freshwater Marsh and Stream Banks: Alnus rhombifolia Nutt., Populus balsamifera L. ssp. trichocarpa (Torrey & A. Gray) Brayshaw, Salix exigua Nutt. ("S. hindsiana"), S. laevigata Bebb, S. lasiolepis Benth., S. lucida Muhlenb. ssp. lasiandra (Benth.) E. Murray, and Umbellularia californica with Evernia, Flavopunctelia, Ramalina and Usnea.
Fig. 1. Vegetation map of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve.
Rock outcrops have Physcia, Umbilicaria and Xanthoparmelia.
Collections were examined where necessary by TLC in standard solvents B1 and C (Culberson 1972; Culberson and Johnson 1982). Figure 2 gives representative chromatograms.
Nomenclature follows Esslinger and Egan (1995) for lichens and Hickman (1992) for vascular plants. Collections are at the Preserve with duplicates, where available, at the H. D. Thiers Herbarium (SFSU). Many taxa were collected more than once, but only a single typical collection is cited. Collection numbers are Doell's and are preceded on the packets by "JR".
1. Usneas were consistently short and bushy, when at least some taxa would be expected to have larger, more expanded thalli. Weissig (cited in Feige [1982]) found that lichen growth rates were reduced at three sites in the city of Cologne compared with three relatively unpolluted sites in the surrounding countryside.
2. Hypogymnias also were consistently small at JRBP.
3. Some Usnea collections were aberrant, e.g. 202, 226 and 272 (I. Tavares). Sigal and Nash (1983) report severe morphological distortion of lichen thalli in a polluted area in southern California, although the effect in this case was due chiefly to ozone rather than to SO2.
4. Usnea arizonica, usually apotheciate in the San Francisco Bay area, was found with pycnidia (or possibly incipient apothecia) only. Feige (1982) reports that production of apothecia in the lichen Lecanora muralis was markedly less within the city of Cologne than in its environs.
5. Pseudocyphellaria anthraspis, usually apotheciate, was found only without apothecia (and was clearly not sorediate P. anomala).
6. Flavopunctelia flaventior, a species that appears to be the premier toxitolerant macrolichen in Marin Co. 65 km to the north and a pollution indicator when dominant (D. Wright unpubl.), is very common at JRBP. The existence of pollution indicator lichen species has been documented for more than a quarter of a century (Hawksorth and Rose 1970).
The student paper by McClure (1976) reported levels of lead in Ramalina menziesii and four other species ranging from 70 to 130 ppm in the interior of the Preserve (880 ppm along Highway 280). These values are close to what one would expect on the basis of reports by Kral et al. (1989, cited in Richardson 1992) for Hypogymnia physodes in rural Czechoslovakia and by Glenn et al. (1995) for Punctelia subrudecta, Parmelia sulcata and Anaptychia ciliaris in a more polluted area in northern Italy. McClure's report must reflect the leaded gasoline in use then, and new measurements of Pb levels to compare with the old ones would be of interest. His findings do suggest an effective channel for transfer of airborne pollutants from Highway 280 to the interior of the Preserve. Although SO2 levels should also have fallen since 1976 owing to the introduction of automotive catalytic converters, that decline would have been offset at least in part by increased vehicle traffic and possibly by acid rain (cf. Hawksworth 1995, under his "Discussion").
At the present time, reduced, sterile and aberrant macrolichen thalli suggest impacts even in the center of the Preserve. There has been no study of atmospheric SO2 levels at JRBP, according to N. Chiariello, Jasper Ridge Scientific Coordinator (pers. comm.). Such a study would reveal whether the lichens were sending a message about air quality at the Preserve. We will report on our own measurements with simple SO2 probes (Sensodyne) in the next Bulletin.
Little collecting was done on rock, so there are undoubtedly many additions to be made from that source. Only partial determinations are available for some taxa, but such reports are helpful to show presence. Also included are a few additional reports by Bruce Ryan from his short stay at the Reservation some years ago.
Localities are coded in the list of species according to the following numbers:
Nodobryoria abbreviata (Müll. Arg.) Common & Brodo (= Bryoria abbreviata [Müll. Arg.] Brodo & D. Hawksw.) --- 1
Darrell Wright
According to Jungreis (1985), chemical spot-testing dates from classical times, when Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23-79) wrote that the Romans detected iron in vinegar with a reagent strip of papyrus soaked in an extract of gall nuts. The first modern chemical spot-testing dates from the work of the German chemist Friedlieb Runge (1794-1867), the discoverer of caffeine and quinine, starting about 1822 (Anft 1955).
Spot tests were first applied to lichens by the Finnish lichenologist, William Nylander (1822-1899). Nylander does not say (1866a,b) how he hit upon calcium hypochlorite (bleach) and potassium hydroxide (lye). He may have examined the chemical literature, in which spot tests were described at least as early as 1834 (Runge cited in Anft 1955), or he may have taken his cue from the long tradition of testing plant materials for color reactions. In either case, the idea of spot-testing lichens and the choice of the two reagents (they happened to be at hand?) seem inspired: it would be hard to find two simple, inexpensive tests as useful as these.
The PD test, which in the 1930's was a standard organic chemist's test (J.A. Elix, pers. comm.) for aromatic aldehydes, substances with a benzene ring carrying a -CHO group, was introduced into lichenology by the lichenologist- chemist, Yasuhiko Asahina (Asahina 1934). According to Hawksworth and Hill (1984, p. 118), Nylander in 1865 was the first to publish the results of iodine starch tests on lichens. Bachmann (1890) appears to have been the first to use an N test (nitric acid), as well as tests with other inorganic reagents, in a study of the mostly brown non-crystalline pig- ments in a number of lichen species. The tests in common use are summarized in Table 1.
The lichen spot tests do not seem to have lost much of their currency in spite of modern chemical refinements like chromatography. One key after another calls for them, and it is a good idea to first go through a key to see which tests will be needed. A suitable panel of results can then be put together before the keying is begun (it does not take long to learn which tests will be needed for particular groups). Reagents for the tests are described in standard references (e.g., Hale 1974, 1979; Esslinger 1977; McCune and Goward 1995; Thomson 1967).
It is easier to apply the reagents and to observe the results if you work under the dissecting microscope. Slice away the cortex to expose an area of medulla 5 mm x 5 mm with a cleaned (soap and water) single-edged razor blade. In most lichens this gives a white surface on which any colors that develop may be easily observed. Select an inconspicuous part of the thallus to test, usually a lobe tip or the margin of the thallus, since, after the medulla is bared, you need to remove the lobe tip first to the testing surface (I use a piece of polypropylene sheet---see below) to apply the reagents and afterwards to a special waste container, especially necessary for PD. In the case of a fruticose thallus, you may want to decide which side is morphologically more representative; call it the "front", and then take material to be tested from the "back"; the form of the thallus should not be altered by removal of the test fragment. Clamping tweezers, available in model shops and hobby supply stores, are good for holding the fragment during the tests. Why take such pains? You want your collections of these very slow growing, slow-to-regenerate organisms, which you have taken out of nature, to be as useful as possible to yourself and others. Peter Bowler (pers. comm.) pointed out that many lichens should be thought of as old growth, so that removing a lichen may be comparable to cutting down a redwood.
I have found the best tool for applying the reagent is a colored plastic toothpick (e.g., Item 01-455, Paper Art Co., 3500 N. Arlington Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46218, 12 packs of 300 picks each, available in party supply stores). These are disposable, non-reactive and color-coded (yellow for K, red for C, blue for PD), so that you can repeat a test without having to use a new toothpick to avoid cross contamination by different reagents. I put a drop each of K, C and Steiner's PD (Hale 1974) onto a 6" x 8" sheet of non-reactive plastic (1/8" polypropylene) and then dip the tip of the toothpick into the drop. I remove excess solution clinging to the toothpick by tapping it on the polypro sheet, delivering to the lichen more or less reagent, as I choose, but never more than a tiny fraction of the volume of the drop from the dropper bottle. When I am finished with the toothpick, I rest it on the polypropylene, to be reused if I need to repeat that test on this specimen. I apply the reagents in the sequence (left to right) shown in figure 1. When I am finished with the specimen, I push the used toothpicks aside on the polypro sheet and take new ones for the next test. When the test session is over, I empty the polypropylene sheet into the special waste container. The sheet is easy to wash up, although I first wipe away the PD with a piece of soapy tissue that then goes into the special container.
There are sources of error for which you need to watch:
1. Reagent that has become weak is a problem only with C in my experience. A small plastic squeeze bottle (5 ml), which is handy for placing one drop on the testing surface, seems to keep it at good strength for several weeks. If the odor of chlorine bleach is present, it will probably be effective, but you may wish to test it on a C+ thallus or just replace it. Steiner's PD solution (see Hale 1974 for formula) lasts for more than a month but eventually will turn orange enough to mask weak yellow or orange PD reactions. K does seem to last indefinitely.
2. The C reactions are fleeting and are sometimes missed. This happens mostly, it seems, because an excess of bleach was used. The fl quantities delivered on the tip of the plastic toothpick help avoid this problem and often give a persisting red or rose color. In general, the less reagent used the better, although it is best to cover an area about two mm on a side to guard against failure of the test because of spotty distribution of lichen product; the tip of the toothpick is flattened and the side can be used in the manner of a flexible spatula to spread the solution on a medulla that does not want to absorb it.
3. Avoid dead, dying and other abnormal tissue. Lobe tips are usually the best for testing, although in some specimens the central parts of the thallus will have higher concentrations of lichen products. Occasionally there is not enough lichen product in a small thallus fragment to give a visible reaction (see note under Usnea substerilis in the article on the macrolichens of the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve in this issue). An interesting technic for dealing with this difficulty by collecting solid lichen product from a dilute solution, discovered here accidentally, is shown in figure 2. Acetone extractant rises over the course of an hour through the TLC pipette or melting point capillary tube and is drawn by adhesive forces out onto the glass wall of the vial where it accumulates as a bead of crystalline material. This bead is quite convenient for testing with reagent on the tip of a toothpick (the vial is placed on its side under the dissecting microscope).
4. Scraping to expose the medulla in a species with atranorin in the cortex may, I discovered, mix this K+substance into the medulla which then gives a weak false positive test with K. Exposing the medulla with a single clean slice helps avoid the problem.
5. Occasionally a test will be negative when a positive one was expected. Repeat it in another area of the thallus; there may be too little secondary product in the first area tested, and you have come up against one of the limitations of the spot tests. Infrequently, only specific structures will react, e.g., soredia or the margin of the apothecium. The literature you are using should warn you when this is the case.
I put the drops of reagent (fresh drops for each specimen) in a line always in the same sequence from left to right (fig. 1): K, C, and PD, so that I will know which drop is which if a test is ambiguous and I want to repeat it. I record the results in a collections database on a laptop computer next to the dissecting microscope. This information is later printed onto a slip of paper that then goes into the packet.
Table 1. Lichen spot tests.
single small exposure of medulla. spot-testing.
Shirley Tucker and Charis Bratt
Both of us conduct chemical spot tests on lichens somewhat differently from the previously described method.
S. T.'s method:
l. Place a microscope slide,with a small piece of white paper below it, on the stage of a dissecting microscope if available. If not, the tests can be made on the slide over paper, and observed without magnification.
2. Moisten a small healthy or typical area of the lichen, cut off three pieces with a razor blade, each about 1/8 inch across, and place them with a forceps at wide intervals on a glass slide. When the pieces are moist, they are easily handled and will not fly into
space when picked up with a forceps. If top and bottom differ in color, place the lighter side up; it is harder to see color reactions in a dark surface. Make sure some edges are cut or torn diagonally in part, so that parts with cortex (surface) and medulla (internal tissue) can be distinguished if necessary.
Note: Be wary of using pieces already broken off and in the bottom of the envelope, as they may not be the same species.
The three tests will be made on these small pieces of tissue. Be sure all are from the same part of the thallus, so that all are the same lichen. The order of the tests, from left to right, is arbitrary, but should be consistent so that the person doing the test knows which is which. I do K first, at far left, then C in the middle, and P at the far right.
3. While observing under the microscope, add a drop of K to the first piece, forming a small pool of liquid around the piece. A positive reaction will turn the piece yellow within 30 seconds or so, and in some lichens, will then turn red. Some color, visible against the white background, may leak out into the surrounding liquid, again giving a positive test. If there is a negative reaction, there is no change in color, other than perhaps a slightly darker hue to the normal dry color. A plus/minus reaction would be the verdict if there is only a faint color change (brownish or faint yellow), after a minute or more.
4. While observing the second piece under the microscope, touch a drop of C to the second piece, especially to the cut edges. This can be done with a capillary tube or a dropper; a dipped toothpick really does not add enough liquid C to be sure you have a good test. A positive reaction will be an immediate rosy flush, which usually disappears quickly, or a drop of red on the cut edge, so watching as you add the chemical is very important. The pink color may tinge the liquid C around the specimen, but it doesn't persist. Bruising or making razor-blade cuts in the piece of tissue will give added opportunity for seeing a positive test. If the reaction is negative, the piece does not react, except to bleach out and lose all color. The C chemical becomes ineffective rather easily, but a fresh lot from the Clorox bottle each day should be effective. One also can keep on hand a supply of a lichen that has a definite C+ reaction, and test the C on that before trying it on an unknown.
The KC test is done on this piece already tested with C. Blot excess liquid C from around the piece, and add a drop of K. A positive test will show color within a minute, often within a few seconds.
5. A chemical test with P can be done on the third piece, on glass over paper, while observing through the dissecting microscope. A positive reaction may be rapid, so watching while applying the chemical is important.
6. Record the results of the three (or four) tests on a piece of paper inserted in the envelope with the specimen. Some collectors like to add the spot-test results to the label, eg., K-, C+ red, KC+ yellow, P-.
The three pieces are discarded after the test, and the slide is washed and can be re-used. If one is uncertain about a test, repeat it with small pieces from different parts of the thallus.
By this method, chemicals are kept away from the lichen specimen and the packet. It is extremely important not to deface the specimen by leaving stains on it. It is much easier to cut off tiny pieces of the thallus before there are chemical spots present on it.
Also, the likelihood of leakage from one spot test to a neighboring one is avoided. Both K and P tend to move rapidly within the lichen tissue, so that it is easy to damage more of the lichen thallus than you intend, if it is attached. Also, both C and P can move rapidly in the thallus, and influence the neighboring reactions if done adjacent to other spots.
Shirley Tucker
C. B.'s method:
1. I do not routinely do all of the tests, but only those which are required in keying. If a medulla test is required, it is often easier to remove the cortex from the test fragment while it is still attached to the thallus. I then place the fragment (or fragments as needed) on a piece of scrap paper.
2. I use a very small capillary tube to place a drop of reagent on the fragment to be tested. If you cannot find capillary tubes small enough, you can heat those you do have over an alcohol burner, draw them out and then break off the tips to get an extremely fine point.
3. Placing small amounts of reagents in shell vials with neoprene stoppers which are kept in place when you are not actively testing preserves your reagents and keeps them from reacting with each other. A wooden holder for the shell vials and their respective capillary tubes keeps things organized.
4. Capillary tubes should be drained on an absorbent surface (such as paper towel) immediately after each test. This keeps the reagent from drying and blocking the tubes and clears them of any contaminate.
5. If you have only a very small specimen or are uncertain of result, it is often helpful to use the acetone extraction method. Place a fragment on a piece of filter paper on a slide, put a drop or two of acetone on the lichen fragment. The chemical tests may then be done on the portion of the filter paper that has the residue from the acetone.
C. Bratt
"Welcome to the Cetraria merrillii club. The problems with this species with respect to Nodobryoria and Cetraria californica have confused and confounded many lichenologists, including me.(Ed.: see Bryologist 98: 189-206, 1995; Bryologist 99: 125-136, 1996)."
To begin with, I readily agree that the dividing line between C. merrillii and C. californica is often very fuzzy. One can find angular/terete as well as flattened branches in both species, but in C. merrillii the flattened branches predominate and you can always find at least a few apothecia developing on the upper lobe surface, rather than terminally or subterminally as in C. californica. In many specimens, however, it's a tough call. This is especially true in California. In B.C., the species don't overlap geographically. Cetraria californica is coastal, and C. merrillii is strictly montane and inland.
Distinguishing Nodobryoria abbreviata from Cetraria californica is much easier. To begin with, there is the color: very reddish brown in Nodobryoria, and yellowish brown to olive brown (or olive black) in the Cetrariae. The epihymenium in Nodobryoria is a clear yellow-brown, never KOH+ violet; in both Cetrariae but especially in C. californica, it is a grayish violet in KOH. Lichenes Can. Exs. 111 shows that reaction well. Recent TLC of that specimen, by the way (to answer your question), showed it to contain "traces of lichesterinic and protolichesterinic plus three other more abundant unidentified fatty acids." I'm not sure which of these compounds was the "unidentified substance" referred to on the label. In checking over quite a number of specimens of C. californica in CANL (I don't remember if I tested every one, but it was close), every specimen had a K+ violet epihymenium. There may, of course, be some K- negative specimens of C. californica, especially from shady habitats where the epihymenial pigment may not develop well. You'll note that not every specimen of C. merrillii was KOH positive"
We spread out into different areas of the reservation for the Saturday morning field trip. At 1:00 p.m., Mark Stromberg, resident Reserve Manager, spoke to our group about the history of the Reserve and about ongoing research there. Afterwards, we concentrated on the Oak Woodland habitat near our lodging. We by no means covered the more than 2000 acres of the Reserve. After a dinner featuring a delicious soup by Charis Bratt, we held a short business meeting followed by an amazing four-projector slide show by Richard Doell.
Bob Stewart
On the weekend of April 20 and 21 CALS members converged on Morro Bay to observe the lichens of the area. Attending were Dennis Sheridan, Shirley Sparling, Mona Bourell, Janet and Richard Doell, Cherie Bratt, Darrell Wright, Bob and Kathy Stewart, Beth Sampson, Jeanne Larson, Shirley and Ken Tucker, Bill Hill, Brian Ali, and Herb Saylor. Many arrived Friday evening, camping at Morro Bay State Park and staying at nearby motels. After breakfast at the campground, we formed a caravan to a "vacant" lot across from Los Osos Junior High School in Baywood Park, a small community just south of Morro Bay.
The location was an elfin forest slated for development. Besides being an Indian midden site (with shell mounds visible by the roadside), this area adjacent to the Natural Preserve at the mouth of Los Osos Creek sported a great variety of vascular plants, lichens, and wildlife. Immediately upon stepping between the shrubs we came upon a horned lizard sunning itself. Brian Ali and Dennis Sheridan, the entomologists amongst us, found several butterflies and many insects. Major shrubs in the area were Ceanothus and Salvia mellifera (Black Sage), as well as small shrubby individuals of Quercus agrifolia (Coast Live Oak) and Arctostaphylos (Manzanita). Cherie Bratt cautioned us to look for two lichens in particular: Sulcaria isidiifera, endemic to only a restricted area here and looking like pale tan Bryoria with isidiate splits in the branches, growing on shrubs; and Cladonia firma, endemic to Europe and in North America found only here. It resembles last night's popcorn strewn on the ground. The Cladonia with at least four other lichen species was quite common at the base of small shrubs, but the Sulcaria was VERY scarce and took a sharp eye to find. Hypogymnia mollis with its laminal soredia was a treat for many of us. It is common on twigs of shrubs here. There were other Hypogymnias, including a probably yet undescribed species. There was Heterodermia leucomelos forma albociliata on shrubs, Pertusaria santamonicae on the oaks, and the fine lacy fog form of Ramalina menzesii. Usnea rubicunda was abundant, and U. wirthii and U. mutabilis (later identified by Doris Baltzo) were also present.
After lunch at the campground we scanned the wind blasted rocks above the park museum overlooking Morro Bay, finding Dimelaena radiata, Niebla, and Thelomma on the rocks, and Dendrographa leucophaea forma minor tucked in a hollow. Leprocaulon microscopicum was at the shaded base of the cliffs, and Schizopelte californica and Niebla cephalota on trunks of Monterey Cypress ( Cupressus macrocarpa).
Next we hiked the trails amongst twisted tree trunks in the Los Osos Oaks Reserve where we found ONE beautiful specimen of Sulcaria isidiifera. Cherie Bratt had made a thorough study of the Reserve and had a checklist for us to review.
After meetings back at the campground and a satisfying dinner with burritos prepared by Mona Bourell, we gathered at the Community Center for slide shows: Santa Barbara Island by Cherie Bratt, lichen parasites by Shirley Tucker, and Morro Bay area lichens by Dennis Sheridan. It was a long wonderful day. On Sunday, those remaining stopped to observe the lichens in Santa Rita Canyon on the way home. There Herb Saylor collected some Ramalina menzesii and Usnea with parasites, having learned about it from Shirley Tucker the night before. He gave them to Shirley, who has sent them to Dr. Paul Diederich in Luxembourg to be identified.
Bill Hill
Janet Doell led a workshop on lichens for the San Francisco Mycological Society on April 23. After a brief talk, those present (11) worked with sample material to learn lichen structures. CALS members Herb Saylor, Bob Stewart, Louise and Bill Freedman and Lisa Bauer were among the group.
Mariette Cole, co-author of the book Lichens of California and now a member of CALS, has offered to supply members of CALS with this book, now out of print, for $11.00. Let Janet Doell know if you want one for this bargain price, and she will arrange for the purchase.
CALS senior member at 94 years of age, Mrs. Alvena Storm, received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from San Diego State University this past May. The honor was awarded in recognition of 40 years of teaching at the University followed by 30 years of remaining active on campus after retirement. Congratulations, Mrs. Storm!
On June 15 and 16 Babara Lachelt again taught an introductory class in lichenology at San Francisco State University for CALS members. The three students present were able to benefit from a lot of personal attention. The Society has many members who describe themselves as beginners, and the Board of Directors arranged for this class to meet their needs. Any insight into why the response was so small would be helpful to the Board in planning future events.
Many thanks are due Dr. Dennis DesJardins at SFSU for making the facilities available to us at no cost. Having a laboratory for the class across the hall from the large lichen section of the H.D. Thiers Herbarium is a big asset for such a class. CALS members who availed themselves of this opportunity were Cheryl Beyer, Barbara Williams and Winonah Kondolf.
A workshop by Cherie Bratt and Dr. Shirley Tucker was presented at the same location the weekend of July 13-14.
With membership continuing to increase it became necessary to change the organization of the Society, especially with regard to the number of officers. Any change in the By-laws calls for a vote of consent by a majority of the members. You will find a copy of the revised By-laws and a ballot inside this Bulletin. Please mail the ballot to CALS if you wish to voice your opinion. A lack of response will be considered a "yes" vote.
Membership dues of the California Lichen Society are due and payable from January 1 to March 31. Anyone joining the Society after October 1 will be considered paid through the following year. Those in arrears will have received notice of the fact with this issue of the Bulletin. Dues categories are
Regular $15-
Sponsor 25-
Donor 35-
Student or 10-
hardship
All categories of members enjoy the same privileges and receive the Bulletin.
Several CALS members were involved in preparing a lichen display for the Fungus Fair of the San Francisco Mycological Society last December 10. The theme of the two-table display was "Lichens are Everywhere". Lynn Marsh applied her artistic talents to designing the display and making a large map of the world which hung on the wall behind the tables. One table had information about lichens in general, and Bill Hill again manned his popular microscopes for use by young and old. Lichens from several states, New Zealand, Chile and some European countries were loaned by Bill Hill, Barbara Lachelt and Janet Doell to demonstrate that lichens are ubiquitous.
In the meantime Richard Doell showed his multi-media slide production, "Lichens on Location", three times in the auditorium.
Thanks to Beth Sampson the display was repeated at the Coyote Point Fungus Fair on January 21, where Richard Doell again presented his multi-media slide show.
Two volunteers are needed to work together on a one-day herbarium search and nine days of habitat reconnaisance in the Forest. They will look for sven species: Dermatocarpon luridum, Hydrothyria venosa, Leptogium saturninum, L. rivale, Lobaria hallii, L. oregana and L. pulmonaria. Mileage ($0.30/mile) and per diem ($18.00/day) are available. Contact David Isle (916-934-3316) or Barbara Lachelt (416-456-2918).
CALS member Ernie Fremont, also of the Napa Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, invited Barbara Lachelt of CALS to give a one day lichen seminar for his chapter's botanical activists. The seminar was held at the Wantrup Nature Preserve, 730 acres of forest and grassland administered by the Land Trust Organization and located about seven miles northeast of St. Helena in Napa County.
The event was hosted by CALS member Joe Callizo, Naturalist in Residence at the Preserve.
The "ticket" to the class was a dissecting microscope, and six chapter members were able to join on that basis. Following a brief tape-slide presentation, there was a field walk to the forested part of the Preserve. The rather prolific lichen growth there is on shaded boulders, in pine and oak forest and on very old, decaying fence posts.
After lunch the group met in the residence meeting room, which was set up as a classroom for lab work. The day ended with a donated dinner and sampling of great local wines. Barbara Lachelt's great teaching was much appreciated, as was Joe Callizo's providing the facilities and hospitality.
Ernie Fremont
Dr. Tom Nash, Professor of Botany and Curator of Cryptograms at Arizona State University gave a presentation on the Sonoran Desert Lichen Project on January 12, 1996, at the UC/Jepson Herbarium, University of California, Berkeley. The introductory lecture described, among other aspects of the project, its geographic scope: in addition to the lichens of the Sonoran Desert proper, the Project will also include the lichens found in all of the State of Sonora, Baja California, Arizona, and southern California north to Santa Barbara County. Collaborators from 17 different countries are involved with the Project.
Following the lecture, Dr. Nash presented a beautiful and informative slide show of various Sonoran lichens and their habitats. Next, Bill Hill showed a short video documenting his recent visit to Arizona State University. Highlighted in the video were Dr. Nash's lichen laboratory and herbarium facilities. Following the presentations, the California Lichen Society hosted an informal reception for Dr. Nash.
October 19-20. Field Trip to the Siskiyou National Forest in southern Oregon. We have invited the Northwest Lichen Guild to join us for this event. Participants will meet at Bear Camp in the northern part of the Forest on the morning of Saturday, October 19, weather permitting. Camping is limited in the immediate area, but more detailed information regarding the camping possibilities will be obtained in August. The town of Agness is an hour's drive to the west over paved roads and has motels and an RV camp.
Be sure to contact one of us if you are interested in this field trip (no need to confirm now) so that we can keep you informed of plans, maps, schedules and other details.
Contact persons:
Cherie Bratt 805-682-4711
Janet Doell 510-236-0489
Veva Stansell 541-247-7153
Bruce Rittenhouse 805-756-0100
January 18-19. Field Trip and Seminar at Wantrup Preserve in Napa County. CALS' hundredth member Joe Callizo is the manager of this 730 acre preserve in Pope Valley and has offered us accommodations free of charge. There are beds for 8 in four bedrooms and lots of floor and camping space. There is also a meeting room and lots of lichens to check out. Details will appear in the winter Bulletin.
Having said entirely too much already in this Bulletin, I shall use this space for just one more announcement. CALS is in the process of producing a poster illustrating 21 lichens of California with high quality laser printed photos, which we hope will be on sale within the next few weeks. The photographer is Richard Doell, and the poster is being produced for CALS by Craig Stewart. It will sell for less than ten dollars and should tell the world of our existence and of the beauty of the lichens. It will also be a source of revenue for the Society.
Janet Doell