In the world of field botany and rare plant seeking, a bit of luck
always helps. It's mostly skill - one has to know the common
species well in order to recognize the unusual. And the botanist
has to be very much aware of habitats and especially the nuances of
micro-habitats in order to place himself/herself into situations
where rarities might be found. Sounds like Geocachers to
me...
A fungus (pronounced 'fuhng-guhs', plural of fungi) is a member
of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes
microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more
familiar mushrooms. The Fungi (pronounced 'fuhn-jahy, fuhng-gahy')
are classified as a kingdom that is separate from plants, animals
and bacteria. One major difference is that fungal cells have cell
walls that contain chitin, unlike the cell walls of plants, which
contain cellulose.
Lichen (pronounced 'lahy-kuhn') is made up of algae and fungus
living in a symbiotic relationship. The fungus gathers nutrients
from bark, stones etc. and retains water while the algae makes
sugars and other nutrients via photosynthesis.
Well this will all make perfect sense once you reach your
destination, we not only wanted you to obtain a smiley but share
rarity and get you to take a closer look. This particular tree will
stand out once you see it. It is covered in Lichen that has a pink
color. This is probably a direct result of the type of Oak and it's
habitat. So far we've seen this old oak on an off over a
couple
years or so and through most of the seasons. It seems to stay
pretty much the same pink color.
BTW This tree was at one time used for target practice by some
of the younger folks. I haven't seen this lately and it looks like
they may have put a stop to this activity. Do be cautious just in
case.
Good Luck as usual there will be a honorable mention for FTF
displayed on the cache page.
It's all about the
Journey,
Cache On!