Let's celebrate St. Patrick's Day with some bright green Lettuce Lung lichen!

From Mount Rainier National Park:

Let's celebrate St. Patrick's Day with some bright green Lettuce Lung lichen!

And now, take a deep breath. Where you find any of the "lung" lichens, you can be assured that the air is free of most pollutants. Although most members of this family prefer shady old-growth forest, they can be found in younger stands as well where they are popular forage food for deer and elk. Nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria found in the cephalodia (small gall-like growths) of Lobaria species play a significant role in contributing to the overall health of a forest. Aren't lichens grand? ~cv