Tales from the Crypt(ogams): the Lichen Files

Jason will select a handful of conspicuous and/or common species which mycologists have posted on MushroomObserver from coastal CA (Monterey to Mendocino counties) and tell a story about each. We can cover a wide range of hopefully interesting topics this way: the fog belt, pollution sensitivity, types of photobionts, secondary chemistry, sunscreen pigments, growth forms, asexual reproductive structures, repeated independent evolution of the lichenized state, unexpected insights from the recent molecular revolution, parasitism, etc.

Speaker: Jason Hollinger