A UVM blog Mini Wonder Blog Project

Greenshield lichen Flavoparmelia caperata

How to ID

• Pale yellow green color when dry
• Lobes are rounded, 3-8mm wide and wrinkled

Greenshield lichen grows on bark and rocks. I found it on an old wooden fence. It prefers clean, moist environments and can be used to monitor air quality.

Maritime Sunburst lichen Xanthoria parietina

How to ID:

• Crusty, bright yellow to orange
• Grows in small, overlapping scales orioles, often forming rounded patches
• Commonly found in sunny areas

Sunburst lichen thrive in nitrogen rich environments. Bird feces is high in nitrogen which explains why I found it here, where the geese poop.

Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta

How to ID

• Up to 3 ft tall
• Daisy-like yellow or orange flowers that are up to 3 inches diameter
• Coarse, hairy lance shaped leaves

St. Johnswort Hypericum perforatum

How to ID

• Stems are reddish and woody at the base
• Flowers are up about 1″ across with five bright yellow petals
• Seed pods are sticky, 3-sectioned capsules that turn deep reddish brown

I created a mini field guide to some plants and lichen I found at my site. Prior to this class, I had no experience or knowledge around plant identification. I’m not fully confident I could identify a maple tree and I am half Canadian. Creating this field guide pushed me out of my comfort zone significantly. I am an avid videographer and landscape photographer, occasionally dabbling in portraits but have never really taken portraits of plants. I had to adjust my process to capture both details and get a picture of what the whole plant looks like. I realized that the photos I automatically want to take, that fit my style of framing and such, are not the best photos of highlighting the unique features of a plant. Of the 8 plants I studied, taking photos, samples and notes in the field, I am confident in my identification of these four plants. 

Sources:

The Natural Web. (2019, August 17). Shrubby St. Johnswort. Retrieved from https://the-natural-web.org/2019/08/17/shrubby-st-johnswort/

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. (n.d.). Hypericum prolificum (Shrubby St. John’s wort). Retrieved from https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ruhi2

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Xanthoria parietina. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthoria_parietina

National Park Service. (n.d.). Lichens. Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/bela/learn/nature/lichens.htm#:~:text=Lichens%20in%20the%20genus%20Xanthoria,birds%20of%20prey%20hang%20out

Missouri Botanical Garden. (n.d.). Hypericum prolificum (Shrubby St. John’s wort). Retrieved from https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=277225

U.S. Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Hypericum prolificum. Retrieved from https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/factsheet/pdf/fs_hype.pdf

Missouri Department of Conservation. (n.d.). Common greenshield lichen. Retrieved from https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/common-greenshield-lichen