This Maple has always captured my attention—probably because it grows directly in the middle of the road! What makes it special for me, is that tree took root in this place long before someone decided to build a road. How neat is it that instead of taking the tree down they built the road around it!

This Journal is my attempt to document how this tree changes through the seasons. What life makes their home on its bark?

So far I have documented four mosses and one lichen on this tree.

Among the mosses are: the Twisted Moss (Syntrichia ruralis)—I think... ; the beautiful, plumose Dendroalsia abietina; the sleak Isothecium cristatum and the amazing Menzies Tree Moss (Leucolepis acanthoneuron)

Among the lichens, so far I have documented one species of gelatinous lichen. This lichen is neat because cyanobacteria permeate its body, unlike other lichens which conceal algae or cyanobacteria in their interior, behind a layer of fungal cells called the cortex. Turns out this lichen is a rare species, known to only 13 other locales in British Columbia!

I've also noted what I think may be a liverwort... and the epicormic shoots growing out of its trunk is definitely a sight to see!

Posted on February 27, 2016 09:05 PM by laurus_nobilis