As the leaves fall from trees and shrubs you may notice the stems of some plants covered with a grayish green crusty or mossy looking growth known as lichen (pronounced "liken"). Lichens will grow on ...

When you walk across the white sand that's common in Florida's scrub habitat, there is a plant no higher than the top of the toe of your shoes that you could easily overlook. The oversight is ...

Q: One of our shade trees in the front yard isn't doing well. I think it is slowly being killed by this gray frilly growth that is growing on the trunk and branch­es. Is there anything we can do? A: ...

Old-growth lichens, including Usnea spp., Flavoparmelia caperata, Evernia prunastri, Parmelina coleae., and Parmelia sp., attach themselves to a tree branch at the Quail Ridge Reserve. A UC Davis ...

Winter is a good time to examine landscape plants. With many of the deciduous plants dropping their leaves, it is easy to see defects and other problems, especially strange things growing on the ...

All plants and lichens listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act are sensitive to climate change but there are few plans in place to address this threat directly, according to new research ...

On cold winter days, feeding sticks of firewood into my woodstove, I sometimes pause, my eye caught by lichens. Splotchy circles, lacy tendrils. Soft gray, muted gray-green, black. They mottle the ...

They are chartreuse and vivid orange, velvety black and speckled red. They are shaped like ruffles, flowers, golf tees, tiny volcanoes, and even letters. And most people never notice them. Those who ...

Some 771 rare endangered species of plant and lichen face being lost to global warming, says a new study. And scientists warn there are few plans to place to address the threat. Most organisms on the ...

All winter, I stared at my magnolia tree’s bare branches, wishing for spring. Except, when I looked closely, I saw that the branches weren’t bare. While I waited for green leaves and pink blossoms, I ...