The Urban Pantheist

Sunburst lichen Xanthoria parietina

I like to think of sunburst lichen as green shield lichen's bizarro British cousin, looking a lot like New England's most common lichen except for the bright orange hue. But sunburst lichen can be found in some North American coastal locations, as well as in Europe, North Africa, and even Australia. I still was amazed at how ubiquitous it was in Britain on my recent visit. Coastal cliffsides spattered orange, beautiful sunspots on boulders, and even as pictured above, man-made objects coated with resilient and vibrant life. Sunburst lichen is pollution and metal-tolerant, making it one of the lichen species more likely to occur near cities.

Through the front window of the bus we took from Poole to Heathrow. The bus driver said he feeds this crow, and it was looking for its handout. I did a very poor job of birding in Great Britain this time. This is Corvus corone, I assume?

Jill instituted a rule that anyone late to class would have to entertain the rest of the class. Here Simon tests the process by pretending to play the banjo and sing, while Mary dances along.

( Read more... )

Ice plant was available for sale at the zoo (at a very reasonable price!) a fact which Jill was trying to change.

(see previous post for relevance)

A run down to town to meet up with an invasive plant expert was picturesque.

( Read more... )

One morning before classes I walked around outside the zoo. The first thing I encountered was this large (8 inch diameter cap) mushroom. Possibly Agaricus sp.

( Read more... )

Potential rodent habitat.

The lead bird keeper tells us about the Madagascar bird exhibit.

( Read more... )

The man-made habitat of finely chopped trees laid in an even bed over soil, encourages a limited subset of fungus species (such as wine cap). I don't know which species these are, unfortunately.

The Jewels of the Forest Exhibit, Durrell Wildlife.