Lalita Calabria

Are #lichens truly a treasure chest of #naturalproducts compared to non-lichenized #fungi? We put this to test using #BGC count as a proxy across ~400 #genomes.

Spoiler alert: They absolutely are!

#PKSs
#secondaryMetabolites
#Lecanoromycetes
#fungalGenomics

Article link: tinyurl.com/ynph7npe

little brown mushrooms growing in moss with purple flowers

Amazing field day with my students at Deception Pass State Park, Island County, WA. We were mapping rare lichens within the sand verbena moth restoration project area, when I noticed these gorgeous mushrooms growing with Racomitrium moss and the beautiful Plectritis congesta.

Trillium growing in a wet forest, white flowers showing three petals and 3 broadly cordate leaves below.

Trillium ovatum is popping off here in Watershed Park, Olympia WA.

Three presenters at a podium about ready to talk on their research on lichens and marbled murrelet nests.

Sometimes you hit the TRIFECTA-Lichens, rare birds, and old-growth, as the folks from Evergreen State College did during their group talk on lichens and marbled murrelets at the NW Lichenologists/Scientific Assoc. meeting talk Wednesday. Their mentor, Dr Calabria is leading the way. #lichens

WOW

Excited to see how this goes. I helped the Plantlife team dig in the thalli…

saw-whet owl perched on a wooden branch with chicken wire in the background

saw whet owl, looking straight forward, perched on a wooden branch with chicken wire in the background

The time a northern saw-whet owl visited my chicken coop.

funky cilia

A travelling-wave strategy for plant-fungal trade. An image of a microscopic view of fungi. Nature logo.

Our newest research on plant-fungal trade published today in @nature.com.

The work, led by scientists from Vrije Universiteit, Princeton University, SPUN & AMOLF combines robotics, mycology & biophysics to reveal underground supply-chain dynamics.

Open access:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Lycoperdon perlatum from a coniferous forest forms an ectomycorrhizal relation with and increases drought resistance of Populus × canadensis ‘Zhongliao 1’ - Symbiosis Plant–fungal symbiotic associations benefit initial plant adaptation to droughty terrestrial ecosystems. Although information on mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi in drought-resistant mechanisms in cro...

And I though Lycoperdon perlartum (Common puffball) was saprobic. This study shows it forms ECM relationships with populus and may improve their resistance to drought.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Hypogymnia lichen with narrow upturned lobes cascading from a conifer tree branch

Hypogymnia duplicata, old-growth yellow cedar swamp, Dingford Creek trail, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, WA.

oooh very cool!😎

eDNA and traditional biocrust sampling each have blind spots for biodiversity but tell a similar ecological story of disturbance in Artemisia steppe.
The Bryologist, 128(1):1-15 (2025). doi.org/10.1639/0007...

gorgeous bright orange, chunky coral mushroom growing from a bed of moss in a hemlock forest

Gorgeous Ramaria showing off in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Halloween 2024.

Take this class!

Go Elisa!

The first description of mycorrhizae was published in 1885, where A.B. Frank first coined the term. His study, commissioned by the Kingdom of Prussia, explored the potential for truffle cultivation. Despite it's age, it's insightful to anyone interested in the subject.

Read it ⬇️
tinyurl.com/ABFrank

ABLS Field Research Awards are now open! Check out the details at www.abls.org

This is so beautiful. I had the chance to visit Bodega Marine Reserve last year. I wish I had seen this sweet lichen.

In case Cladonia's with podetia weren't challenging enough...😎

this is a really sweet photo!