Photograph of Lobaria retigera lichen, showing its leafy shape and brown colour. Credit: D.J.Galloway via Wikimedia Commons
A paper by Daminova et al. in #FungalBiology shows that changes in the outer layer of the Smoker's Lung lichen (Lobaria retigera) caused by melanin, along with the properties of the melanin itself, help the lichen tolerate strong light & heavy metals.
doi.org/10.1016/j.fu...
If it looks like the area approved for strychnine took zero consideration for the environment that's because its true.
The red area is where strychnine is approved for use for the next two years. The blue area is the last remaining range of swift foxes in Canada.
Trump clarifies that civilization he intends to end is America
Hm, that would make a prickly pair
Give it another decade and it will be desert! The soils bake in summer
Can I use this photo? This is a really nice example of the phenomenon
Photo of a large grey, crustose lichen on pinkish rock. The lichen is comprised of a half dozen or more large sort of circular rings with bare rock in between the rings.
Lichen, Arctoparmelia centrifuga. #Newfoundland, Canada. Lichen is about 50cm in diameter. #lichen #fungi #fungifriends. Photo for scale is in comments.
That ratio tells a better story than any plagiarism machine could ever write 👀
I wrote about why every lab should have AI use guidelines, and how to do it.
open.substack.com/pub/blekhman...
@nwlichenologists.bsky.social
Anaptychia crinalis, saxicolous, at mod elev in dry IDF near Merritt, Southern Interior BC Canada Oct.1/26 * had mistaken for Physcia tenella, even though it was esorediate
Whaaat this was on my hit list
cartoon of a bunch of people in floor length robes, three on the left in hijab and a whole mass on the right with beards. The caption says SO LADIES, THANKS FOR BEING THE FIRST TO WITNESS AND RECORD THE RESURRECTION AND WE’LL TAKE IT FROM HERE
Shot of a post: David Hughes @david8hughes Judas: still on for Friday? Jesus: Friday? Judas: yeah, the last supper Jesus: the what? Judas: supper. Normal supper with the fellas
Local shopkeeper asked if I was celebrating Easter and I said yes but not like that,
A door with a name tag. The tag has a logo with the text SciLifeLab. Below is my name and text "Assistant Professor. Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences. Stockholm University". Through the glass wall you can see the office in a state of disarray
Still cannot fully believe it, but today is officially my first day as a PI at @scilifelab.se and Stockholm University! The lab is open, time to fill it with science..
#newPI
Bar graph showing Fort Collins days with high temperatures at or above 60°F in December through winter. 2025-2026 is a record high of 43 days, with the previous record of 22 in 1980-1981.
This is another one of those jump scare graphs, showing the number of 60°F days in Fort Collins, Colorado this winter compared to any prior season since the 1800s.
More here: source.colostate.edu/colorado-rec... and via the @climate.colostate.edu.
We should increase public funding for taxonomy, because otherwise we get bitcoin flies.
(Meanwhile, the agency that supports most taxonomy in the US, NSF, has all but stopped giving out any funds under the Trump regime. So we can expect more bitcoin flies)
Helotiales fungi as potential nutritional partners for non-mycorrhizal plants: a machine learning and experimental approach www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03...
Some reflections on #Fungal26 This was a great meeting as always but set against some turbulent times of course, which meant many regular attendees were not present. This thread is mainly for them. However, the proportion of first-time attendees was very high and very international. #Fungal26 1/15
Compare with Lecanora epanora
An argan tree with a lichen-spotted ground visible in the foreground
Some pinkish and black lichens on the grounds
A white lichen with black apothecia on reddish sand
A yellowish lichen with leafy edges growing on the ground
something i’d never seen before: lichens growing straight on the (hard, sandy) ground! (a bit outside of agadir, in the foothills of the atlas)
Lichen fungal effectors are potentially targeted to algal chloroplasts @puginiercamille.bsky.social #Fungal26
Screenshot showing the Climate Shift Index from Climate Central for March 19, 2026. There is a change in likelihood of CSI 5 across nearly the entire Western USA.
Even in a world of extremes, some events still stand out to me. This is one. All-time monthly records are being shattered.
The size of this ridge across the western U.S. is truly striking for March, and we see a very clear climate change connection.
Explore: csi.climatecentral.org/climate-shif...
Distinct diversity trajectories of boreal wood‐inhabiting fungi following fire versus clear‐cutting - Buness - 2026 - Journal of Ecology - Wiley Online Library besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Every year or so, the position of AM fungi in the Fungal Tree of Life seems to shift. It happened again in 2025-2026: AM fungi were reported as sister to Mucoromycotina, then as sister to Dikarya + Entorrhizomycota. One consistent takeaway, though, is the timing...
Sunlight travels 93 million miles to reach the earth
None of them through the Strait of Hormuz
billmckibben.substack.com/p/sunlight-t...
“Grim but shot through with bright spots and possibility” is very on-brand NYT
Thanks @sarahkcox.bsky.social for highlighting this spectacular inland rainforest and its rare lichens
Today was my first spotting of Buttercups for the season. Passing along to hopefully brighten your day.
A wee bit early, no?
Thanks @sarahkcox.bsky.social for highlighting this spectacular inland rainforest and its rare lichens
