We’re approaching mid-January, the time of year when the Following Deer Creek (FDC) Project first came into being (2017). Like the Earth circling around the Sun and the planetary water cycle, we’ve completed a journey.
I set out to tell the story of the Deer Creek watershed from its tectonic and cultural origins to the people and animals who live in it today. Working backward, I posted blog articles as I researched in preparation to compile the film.
Aerial Views & History of the Deer Creek Watershed: Journey from Headwaters to Confluence a thirty-minute fly-over film
In early January of 2021, the film was complete. Like the FDC blog posts, it’s a birds-eye view of the watershed that hints at depths.
I smile when I think back to the initial idea seed. Of course, there is no one story, there are more than can ever be told.
FDC and the Aerial Views film is a decent outline, but it also illustrates how much more remains for investigation and study.
Lichens are tiny farming biomes that live on rocks, soil and trees.
Fortunately, with a magnifying glass or macro setting on your smartphone, you can explore these systems within a few steps of your door.
A Lichen is a Symbiotic System
Lichen is composed of fungi, algae, and bacteria. The fungus captures plant cells, taking it inside its body where it nourishes and protects them. When the algal cells photosynthesize, they produce sugars that the fungus eats.
Very resilient, lichens have survived space experiments and can lay dormant for up to ten years in wetter California climates. Some species are over 1,000 years old!
What Lichens Need to Grow
Lichens need air, water, light, nutrients, and something to cling to (substrate).
Air: Like sponges, lichens absorb everything they need from nutrients to moisture. They’re so sensitive to environmental pollutants, temperature shifts and water conditions that the U.S. Forest Service uses lichen surveys as indicators of forest health, providing hot spot data and conservation priorities.
Water: Lichens don’t have the ability to regulate moisture levels (poikilohydry). When they lack water, they dry out, go dormant and look dark. When water is available, they plump-up, look green, grow, and reproduce.
Light: The algal cells that the fungi farm need light to photosynthesize. Lichen species have different light requirements. Some prefer full sun on rocks while others like shady, cooler subclimates. Brightness and coloring are also affected by light. Species adapted to hotter and brighter conditions are generally more colorful.
Nutrients: Lichen nutrients include; oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. Lichens use cyanobacteria to “fix” nitrogen from the air which is then used to organic acids and proteins.
Substrate: Any non-moving object the lichen can hold onto – rocks, trees, soil, tombstones, houses, farm equipment, etc.
Types of Lichen
Foliose: Leafy lichens that use tiny rhizines to attach to substrate.
Folios lichen – Plitt’s Xanthoparmelia plitti, Lettuce lichen/Lobaria oregana & Rhizine Photo by Ed Uebel – NOTE: Lichens are not parasitic. They do not hurt trees.
Forage: Hair-like and hanging species that are eaten by animals and humans
Forage lichen – Willa/Bryoria fremontii – eaten by squirrels, western voles, wild turkey, slugs, snails, mites, springtails, certain caterpillars and Mule deer. Photo by Jason Hollinger
Crustose: Lichens grow flat on their substrate surface
Crustose lichens – gold cobblestone/Pleopsidium flavum and Firedot/Caloplaca trachyphylla – Photos by Jason Hollinger
Fruticose: looks like a shrub, bush, or coral
Fruticose lichen – Old Man’s Beard/Usnea Photo by Rhododendrites & Wolf lichen/Letharia vulpina Photo by Jason Hollinger
Reproduction
Lichens have multiple reproduction methods. If they reproduce sexually (by way of fruiting bodies) they create spores. If they reproduce asexually, a powdery substance – soredia – is released. Both methods use, wind, water, and animals to transport the newbies.
The fruiting body of the Pixie Cup lichen
MYTH: Lichen do not harm trees.
Other Lichen Uses & Users
Clothing, wound absorbent, diapers, model train shrubbery, and an ingredient in concrete, perfume, and deodorant. Some lichens are being studied as new sources of antibiotics and medicines.
Camouflage for; lizards, moths, tree frogs and other insects.
Insect larva camouflage
Nesting MaterialAt least 50 bird species use lichens as nesting material.
Bear Yuba Land Trust exists to protect and defend the working and natural lands
of the Bear and Yuba River Watersheds and to enrich the deep community connection with nature, in perpetuity.
Truckee Donner Land Trust (Tahoe/Donner Land Preservation)
To preserve and protect scenic, historic and recreational lands with high natural resource values in the Truckee Donner region
and manage recreational activities on these lands in a sustainable manner.
The Yuba Watershed Institute is a group of citizens who are concerned with the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of
long-term biological diversity within the Yuba River watershed. The Institute also serves as an educational
resource, providing an ongoing series of talks, seminars, publications and walks on all aspects of the watershed.
Deer Creek & Nevada County Art made-to-order on clothing, housewares, or accessories.
$5 from each sale supports the FDC blog & documentary project.
Once complete, proceeds from art sales will be donated to one or more of the nonprofit organizations listed above!
Toyon, in the rose family, carries a name given to it by Native Americans and produces fruit related to apples. Because it ripens and turns bright red around the holidays, its common names are Christmas berry and California Holly.
Photo Credit: redit Miguel Vieira
Toyon’s scientific name, Heteromeles arbutifolia, means “different apple.”
There’s debate surrounding the plant’s association with the naming of Hollywood. [See link in resources.]
A California native, Toyon is an evergreen shrub. It grows from sea level to scrub oak zones up to 4,000 ft. elevation; it’s drought tolerant and accepts a variety of soil types— including clay.
FIRE
Specially adapted to flourish after fire, Toyon root crowns store carbohydrates allowing the plant to quickly send up new sprouts.
Established shrubs, reaching 8 to 10 feet in height, have lower water requirements than young plants.
FLOWERS
Photo Credit: John Rusk
Small white flower bunches appear in June and July.
MATURING FRUIT
Photo Credit: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz
While fruit is developing, berries contain a cyanogenic glucoside, a toxic substance, that protects them from being eaten.
Photo Credit: John Rusk
As the fruit ripens, turning red, the cyanogenic glucoside moves from the pulp into the seeds.
Photo Credit: Becky Matsubara
FRUIT CONSUMPTION
Birds and some mammals, such as coyote and bear, eat Toyon berries in the fall.
For humans, the taste of fresh berries is bitter. It’s a good idea to spit out the seeds.
Heating berries before eating removes some of the bitterness.
HISTORIC HUMAN FRUIT CONSUMPTION
Bark and leaf tea for stomach problems and wound infections – Kumeyaay people and other Native Tribes
Leaf infusions – menstruation regulation – Costanoan people
Sun parching – Luiseno people (southern California)
Thirst quencher – Mahuna people
Wine, custard, jelly, and porridge – Spanish and American settlers
A burned, sometimes smoldering, Incense Cedar tree is one of the few places the Cedar Wood Wasp, lays its eggs. This insect is the only living species of its family, making it a ‘living fossil.’
Incense Cedar Wood Wasp – a living fossil
Cedar is commonly used for building and fencing materials. Because the wood is pliable for gripping and resists splintering, it may be best known for its use in pencils.
Hearty, drought tolerant, and accepting of shade and sun, the tree grows at a wide variety of elevations.
Calocedrus decurrens seed cones and seeds
Incense Cedar growing range
Native Americans used Incense Cedar for hunting bows, fire making, baskets, brooms, shelter building, and for ceremonial and healing purposes.
