Yesterday, March 20th, was the first day of spring. And with the warm temperatures and bountiful sunshine, it actually felt like spring this weekend (not always the case for the first few days of spring in New England). The black-capped chickadees have been loudly singing “spring’s here” all day. The plants in my yard seem to have gotten the memo too: the crocuses, snowdrops, and dandelions are blooming, and the hyacinths, daffodils, irises and day lilies are pushing out new shoots and leaves. But the native forest plants march forward at their own pace. It will be late April or early May before the spring ephemerals like trailing arbutus, Canada mayflower and star flower start blooming, and many of our common deciduous trees, like red maples and sassafras won’t bloom until then either. 

In the meantime, I continue to admire the many colors and textures of the Cape Cod “winter” forest. Bright green moss continues to stand out against the brown and gray background, and lichens provide a variety of shapes, textures and patterns that adorn the trees and rocks. One of my favorites is the perforated ruffle lichen (Parmotrema perforatum). 

Perforated ruffle lichen is a relatively large foliose lichen (foliose = having a leaf-like structure with a clearly defined upper and lower surface) with wavy, irregular edges and a pale green-gray upper surface. It also produces large yellow-tan apothecia (cup-like structures with a spore-bearing surface), each with a hole in the center, giving rise to the name “perforated”. Finally, there are long black cilia around the perimeter of the apothecia. The whole assemblage always reminds me of big wide-open eyes with long eyelashes. While some species of lichen prefer rock or soil as their substrate, you’ll most likely find perforated ruffle lichen growing on trees and branches.

Next time you take a walk in the woods, don’t despair at the lack of leaves and flowers. Instead, take advantage of your unobstructed view and see how many types of lichen you can find.