365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Ramalina Farinacea, "The Dotted Line"
Day 25: Ramalina farinacea's enchanting common name "the dotted line" refers to the numerous soralia found along the margins of its lobes. The second half of the Latin taxonomy should ring a bell in anyone who has ever eaten farina for breakfast, the cereal product marketed under the familiar brand name, "Cream of Wheat." My personal opinion is that Cream of Wheat is only marginally more edible than sand however it is served, and my experience in having been compelled to eat it on rare occasion makes "farinacea" a word I'm unlikely to forget. Funny how those associations are made. This thoroughly farinaceous Ramalina is relatively common in the Pacific Northwest. Some members of the genus have perforate, lacy lobe tips; they may or may not have grit.
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