Fungi & Lichens

Lettuce lichen is a conspicuous member of the moist coastal forest community. Like other lichens, it is a partnership in which a fungus lives together with photosynthetic partners. Growing on trees allows it to occupy a very different ecological layer from the plants, fungi and animals living on or beneath the forest floor.

Methuselah's beard lichen is an unmistakable hanging lichen of humid forests. Its long strands occupy the branch and canopy environment, where access to clean air, moisture and suitable forest structure shapes where it can grow. It is one of those organisms that makes the atmosphere of a coastal forest visible.