Common Lichens of the Eastern United States Easily Identify More Than 55 Widespread Types
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Debut author Tanner Barnharst teaches lichen classes, speaks at conferences, and leads workshops about lichens. He has camped, backpacked, and canoed throughout the Upper Midwest to find lichens. In 2023, he was the chairperson of the Minnesota Mycological Society. In 2024, he was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award for volunteering over 500 hours of service work through the Minnesota Master Naturalist program. Tanner lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Common Lichens of the Eastern United States Easily Identify More Than 55 Widespread Types
Get this tabbed booklet to the 58 most common lichens of the eastern United States—and learn to identify them with confidence.
Lichens are all around us: clinging to city trees, carpeting forest floors, and painting rocks with brilliant hues. Yet most people walk right past these fascinating organisms without realizing what they’re seeing. Whether you’re a backyard naturalist, a seasoned hiker, or someone who’s curious about the natural world, this easy-to-use guide helps you recognize and appreciate lichens in your everyday environment.
Each lichen is organized by the surface it grows on—trees, soil, or rocks—and then by growth form: leafy, bushy, or crusty. Narrow your choices by what you see and where you see it, and view just a few lichens at a time. The professional photographs showcase 58 species (which account for 70% of all lichen sightings in the eastern United States) while straightforward descriptions make field identification approachable and fun for beginners and experts alike. Written by debut author and naturalist Tanner Barnharst, this pocket-size guide features species found from the states that border the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean.
Book Features
- Pocket-size format—easier than laminated foldouts
- Professional photos showing key traits and textures
- Easy-to-use information for even casual observers
- Identifications based on over 200,000 verified field observations
Improve your identification skills and learn about the hidden world of lichens with this lightweight quick guide.
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
How to Use This Book
Growing from Trees
Growing from Soil
Growing on Rock
About the Author
How to Start Identifying Lichens
First, identify the main form of your lichen.
- Is it leafy (foliose), bushy (fruticose), or crusty (crustose)?
- Note the color of your lichen and if it is wet or dry.
This information will often be enough to get to the family level of identification. To confirm the genus (and perhaps species) of your lichen, look a bit more closely and look for reproductive structures.
- Does it have raised cup or domelike growths (apothecia), or grainy growths (soralia or soredia), or finger-like growths that are often smooth (isidia)?
- If so, note their color(s) and where they are on the lichen: center, edges, both?
Also, be sure to note if your lichen has an underside.
- If the lichen has an underside, what color is it and is the color different in the center compared to the edge?
- Does the underside have small root-like growths (rhizines), if so, what color are they? Do they branch at all?
Going through these rounds of analysis will usually get you to the genus level of identification and often down to species level.
Adventure Quick Guides are portable, durable, often tabbed booklets. Designed for ease of use, these 4.25" x 7.5" spiral-bound guides help readers to quickly identify the things they see in nature: birds, animal tracks, fish, rocks, and more. Species are conveniently organized by such user-friendly categories as color, shape, or group. Readers open the tabs to the correct grouping, where every page features several full-color, professional-quality images, as well as short blurbs of text that provide the basic details needed for positive identification. At around 24 pages per booklet, each quick guide retails for $10–$15. Adventure Quick Guides are pocket-sized, so they are convenient to bring along on hikes and other outings, and they generally focus on specific regions within the United States.
Get this tabbed booklet to the 58 most common lichens of the eastern United States—and learn to identify them with confidence.
Lichens are all around us: clinging to city trees, carpeting forest floors, and painting rocks with brilliant hues. Yet most people walk right past these fascinating organisms without realizing what they’re seeing. Whether you’re a backyard naturalist, a seasoned hiker, or someone who’s curious about the natural world, this easy-to-use guide helps you recognize and appreciate lichens in your everyday environment.
Each lichen is organized by the surface it grows on—trees, soil, or rocks—and then by growth form: leafy, bushy, or crusty. Narrow your choices by what you see and where you see it, and view just a few lichens at a time. The professional photographs showcase 58 species (which account for 70% of all lichen sightings in the eastern United States) while straightforward descriptions make field identification approachable and fun for beginners and experts alike. Written by debut author and naturalist Tanner Barnharst, this pocket-size guide features species found from the states that border the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean.
Book Features
- Pocket-size format—easier than laminated foldouts
- Professional photos showing key traits and textures
- Easy-to-use information for even casual observers
- Identifications based on over 200,000 verified field observations
Improve your identification skills and learn about the hidden world of lichens with this lightweight quick guide.
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
How to Use This Book
Growing from Trees
Growing from Soil
Growing on Rock
About the Author
How to Start Identifying Lichens
First, identify the main form of your lichen.
- Is it leafy (foliose), bushy (fruticose), or crusty (crustose)?
- Note the color of your lichen and if it is wet or dry.
This information will often be enough to get to the family level of identification. To confirm the genus (and perhaps species) of your lichen, look a bit more closely and look for reproductive structures.
- Does it have raised cup or domelike growths (apothecia), or grainy growths (soralia or soredia), or finger-like growths that are often smooth (isidia)?
- If so, note their color(s) and where they are on the lichen: center, edges, both?
Also, be sure to note if your lichen has an underside.
- If the lichen has an underside, what color is it and is the color different in the center compared to the edge?
- Does the underside have small root-like growths (rhizines), if so, what color are they? Do they branch at all?
Going through these rounds of analysis will usually get you to the genus level of identification and often down to species level.
Adventure Quick Guides are portable, durable, often tabbed booklets. Designed for ease of use, these 4.25" x 7.5" spiral-bound guides help readers to quickly identify the things they see in nature: birds, animal tracks, fish, rocks, and more. Species are conveniently organized by such user-friendly categories as color, shape, or group. Readers open the tabs to the correct grouping, where every page features several full-color, professional-quality images, as well as short blurbs of text that provide the basic details needed for positive identification. At around 24 pages per booklet, each quick guide retails for $10–$15. Adventure Quick Guides are pocket-sized, so they are convenient to bring along on hikes and other outings, and they generally focus on specific regions within the United States.
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Debut author Tanner Barnharst teaches lichen classes, speaks at conferences, and leads workshops about lichens. He has camped, backpacked, and canoed throughout the Upper Midwest to find lichens. In 2023, he was the chairperson of the Minnesota Mycological Society. In 2024, he was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award for volunteering over 500 hours of service work through the Minnesota Master Naturalist program. Tanner lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.