Pictured above: Oakmoss Lichen – Evernia Prunastri, and Common Greenshield Lichen – Flavoparmelia Caperata. Oakmoss has the tree branch appearance, and Greenshield is the smoother one with cup formations and little black hairs.
Lichens… Those in the picture above are only two of many I remember discovering, collecting, and studying as a child. I was always fascinated by the colors, textures and shapes, and the fact that nearly microscopic insects, spiders, and other creatures would run, jump, hunt, and hide among the cups, leaves, folds and branches, an entire jungle world at your fingertips, all in a space smaller than the size of a half dollar. A good size fallen branch could have several of these tiny jungles, and in the forests of East Texas, there were so many fallen branches… each it’s own world. I didn’t fully comprehend it at the time, but this deeply influenced my understanding of life, and our place in it. As I imagined being one of the small creatures hiding from some predator or hunting some prey in that jungle, I realized that we play out a similar drama in a human scale jungle, and just as we observe the miniature world, then someone or something can just as easily observe us. I began to see everything in a different light. We are a small part of a universe we cannot begin to comprehend, and any explanation we advance is only a tiny step towards the truth. A truth we may not ever reach. All on a branch we call the universe. Deep thoughts for an 8 year old.
On a more practical note, almost all Lichens in North America are considered edible by foraging experts. The preparation and cooking methods (boiling repeatedly with wood ash to remove an unpleasant stomachache inducing acid) and outcome ( a tasteless gelatinous mass) described don’t sound very appetizing. One article listed them as “starvation foods,” only to be eaten as a last resort. That sounds reasonable to me, I’d much rather look at them than eat them.