Lace lichen (Ramalina menziesii)
Lace lichen (Ramalina menziesii) is a long (up to 1 meter), fruticose lichen with an intricate netted structure. It has flat, pale yellowish-green branches that hang from trees, often forming large clumps. Occasionally, lace lichen has apothecia. It can be found in western North America from central Baja California to southern Alaska.
There are only a few other lichens of similar color that hang from trees in this region. None of them have the intricate lacey structure of lace lichen. Beard lichens (species in the genus Usnea) also hang in large clumps throughout the range of lace lichen; however, beard lichens have round branches with a tough central cord that is somewhat elastic when wet. In northern parts of the lace lichen range, large bunches of witch's hair lichens (species in the genus Alectoria) might look similar to lace lichen from a distance.
Lace lichen
To see where other people have been observing lace lichen - and to find out where you can go to see it, too! - check out the species observations on iNaturalist.
View more observations of Ramalina menziesii on iNaturalist.org »
History
2011: Founding member, Janet Doell, begins the campaign to designate lace lichen as the California State lichen.
2014: CALS seeks a state legislator to sponsor a bill designating a state lichen.
March 18, 2015: Assembly Bill 1528 is sponsored by Assemblymember Marc Levine.
April 28, 2015: AB 1528 passes the Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife.
April 30, 2015: AB 1528 passes the California State Assembly (vote: 75-0) and moves to the Senate.
June 23, 2015: AB 1528 passes the Senate Natural Resources & Water Committee.
June 29, 2015: AB 1528 passes the California State Senate (vote: 37-2) and moves to the governor's desk.
July 9, 2015: AB 1528 is presented to Governor Jerry Brown.
July 15, 2015: Governor Jerry Brown signs AB 1528 into law, designating lace lichen as the California State Lichen.
January 1, 2016: Law designating lace lichen as the California State Lichen goes into effect.