I'm grateful for the suggestion of the moss field guide! I've been lamenting my inability to identify moss (and lichen to a lesser extent) and that looks like a great place to start. I was surprised that Reindeer Moss rang a bell in the back of my brain and then realized I was actually thinking of Caribous Moss (from an essay of the same name in Sigurd Olson's "The Singing Wilderness"). However, a Google search tells me they are one and the same so I guess I really do need a field guide for moss and lichen since I am obviously out of my depth!
Happy Thanksgiving all!! When guiding in the BWCA I was treated to a lichen meal... the cook fried the dark leafy lichens in butter.
Happy Thanksgiving to you too! I should have thought of frying them in butter!
I'm grateful for the suggestion of the moss field guide! I've been lamenting my inability to identify moss (and lichen to a lesser extent) and that looks like a great place to start. I was surprised that Reindeer Moss rang a bell in the back of my brain and then realized I was actually thinking of Caribous Moss (from an essay of the same name in Sigurd Olson's "The Singing Wilderness"). However, a Google search tells me they are one and the same so I guess I really do need a field guide for moss and lichen since I am obviously out of my depth!
I had forgotten that essay. There are quite a few that look alike. If you start learning them, I'd love to hear how it goes.