British Soldiers (Cladonia cristatella)
This is a species of lichen that grows pretty prolifically in my woods. In particular (or specifically, ha ha), it is British Soldiers (Cladonia cristatella).
I took this picture yesterday when I was out finishing up the evergreens. I guess this is an evergreen too, but I have not heard that term applied to non-flowering plants, so maybe it doesn’t apply here either.
British soldier is so named because of the red “hats” on the lichen’s “head.” Also, they tend to grow in colonies, where they look like a British regiment.
Another non-flowering plant I photographed this week is some sort of liverwort (I think). I find liverworts incredibly challenging to identify – to the point that I am never clear as to whether I’m looking at a liverwort or a lichen.
Liverwort?
I have done some reading on liverworts, and that’s what makes not knowing for sure if this really is one even more maddening. But the name is easy enough. “Liver” refers to that organ in your body, and “wort” means plant. It is so named because it is shaped somewhat like the liver, and back in the day, people thought that if your liver was ailing, you should use a medicine derived from a plant that looks like a liver. In reality, liverwort is not an efficacious treatment for any liver ailments. But it was named back in the day when blood-letting was a common practice too.
So… it’s not like I don’t know anything about liverwort. It’s just that the things I know about it are obsolete! If anyone knows of a good field guide covering liverworts, I’d love to hear about it.
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January 2, 2012 at 9:04 pm
You’re a poetic master. (: The British Soldiers do look a lot like a moldy leftover in the fridge.
I’m looking forward to the kids returning to school tomorrow and looking for evergreens sticking out of our very first snow cover.(2 months later than the norm) I haven’t had a chance to wander since your evergreen post days…or weeks…. ago. We’re looking temps way above freezing in a few days and wonder if I’ll be able to spot any evergreens in the wet green ground.
January 2, 2012 at 9:11 pm
My daughter had a sleep-over yesterday (and we got her back tonight). That was a little better than back-to-school, because I didn’t have to go to work. Tomorrow she goes back to school, and I go back to work.
You might be surprised at the number of evergreens you find on the ground. I know I was! But I would surely love to have some snow already.
January 2, 2012 at 9:51 pm
I hope you have uploaded (or plan to upload) many of these wonderful pics of flora and fauna you take to the Wiki Honor books answer book you’ve so wonderfully created/maintained.
January 2, 2012 at 9:59 pm
I do that on an as-needed basis. If an honor needs a photo and there’s already a good one available on the Commons, then I don’t bother to upload one of mine. If I have a better one, or if there’s not one, then I do upload. My best photos are on the Commons. Sometimes I will edit one that’s already there.
Here’s a link to everything I’ve uploaded. Some are nice. Some are mundane.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Jomegat
January 3, 2012 at 12:52 am
Those soldiers are really something. I’ve not seen them before and assume they aren’t found here.
January 3, 2012 at 7:16 am
They might not live in Montana, but I can’t find any information on their range (with a quick search anyhow). This page has lots of neat facts about it, but no range info: http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/british_soldiers.htm
January 3, 2012 at 5:10 am
Lichens, mosses, liverworts and hornworts I never took time to study in depth and regret it because they are so interesting. But one can also spend a lifetime just studying the mosses and I just never had the time.
I’ve never seen or heard of the British Soldiers. I’ll have to keep a close eye out to see if we have them in this neck of the woods.
Nice macros!
January 3, 2012 at 7:09 am
Thank you! The place I find them most often is on moss-covered stumps. Hopefully that hint will narrow your search.
January 3, 2012 at 6:01 pm
Next time I get into the woods I’ll keep my eyes on stumps for the red hats. It’s odd (or maybe not) that they have spore capsules at this time of year.
Here’s a link to a book on Liverworts. http://www.amazon.com/Liverworts-New-England-Naturalist-Botanical/dp/089327478X#reader_089327478X
It’s a bit pricey, but the one review says it’s excellent. The author says she wrote it because she couldn’t find a book on Liverworts.
January 3, 2012 at 7:38 pm
I think all the works I’ve seen on liverworts use illustrations instead of photos. And all the illustrations are just blobs. I’ll check this one out.
January 5, 2012 at 11:04 pm
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