Mill Creek, Front Country Ranger District

I have been working with southern CA lichenologist Kerry Knudsen on completing a lichen flora of the San Bernadino National Forest, where I work now. About once a week we go out in the field collecting lichens for identification in different areas of the forest. It is a lot of fun and I am learning a lot about the more cryptic crustose lichens of arid places.

These pictures are from the Mill Creek watershed on the Front Country Ranger District of the SBNF. 

Lecanora moralis is common on rock

Dematocarpon americanum

Placynthiella uliginosa is a new record for the SBNF that occurs on moss growing on soil 

The biological soil crust containing Placynthiella uliginosa

I spotted this Parmelina coleae on oak. A new record for the forest and it is endemic to CA. 

Miners lettuce (Claytonia sp.)

It is hard to believe that there is moss on the SBNF because it is so dry! Of course riparian areas are very different botanically

I'm not sure what the spotted structure is on this liverwort

This snake scared me! It was just hanging out on the path. I checked to make sure there was no rattle first and the head isn't the right shape to be a rattlesnake. 

Cool rocks in Mill Creek