Piney River Trail, Spring City, TN Thanks to the folks at the Lichen workshop I attended at the Tremont Institute in the Smoky Mountains (Feb. 2009), I finally learned what kind of lichen this is! Thanks, Jennifer! I have seen it often while hiking and thought it was unusual, but I never knew what it was. It grows on rocks, often interspersed with moss. Although it looks green it is not a plant, it is a lichen so it is classified in the Kingdom Fungi. The little brown knobs are the reproductive bodies called apothecia.
Some of the nice things about lichen is that you can enjoy them year-round; they grow just about everywhere; they come in a beautiful variety of colors, shapes and textures; and best of all, they don't move in the wind! My poor husband will now have put up with me taking photos of another kind of organism! ;) These lichens were photographed after a snowfall in the Smokies on Feb. 22, 2009. Lichens are incredibly resilient organisms, they can withstand cold, heat, and drought. Their "Achilles' heel" is poor air quality since they absorb water and nutrients from the air. Park rangers and researchers are studying the health of lichens in the higher elevations of the Smokies to help monitor air quality. Lichens grow at an incredibly slow pace, some from 0.1mm to 0.5mm / year! Large lichens can be very old; all the more reason to not damage them!
I liked the patterns of this lichen and how it changes color as it grows.
