michaelrudy's Favorites
Photos / Sounds
What
Gypsum Earthscale Lichen (Gypsoplaca macrophylla)Observer
michaelrudyDescription
Not necessarily locally abundant, one of the rarest soil lichens here, but still at least 50 colonies in the area in multiple patches of exposed, dry prairie soil.
Sample collected!
Photos / Sounds
What
Family LichinaceaeObserver
bradenjudsonDescription
On seepy metavolcanic rock face. Photobiont Nostoc. Lobes small and round in cross section. Surface areolate.
Photos / Sounds
What
Ghostwort (Aneura mirabilis)Observer
mikhaildulinDescription
Криптоталлус удивительный - бесхлорофильный печёночник
Photos / Sounds
What
Chrysis nitidulaObserver
matthias22Description
At small clay cliff. This series of images probably shows four different individuals. The cliff is a very active nest site of Ancistrocerus sp. B (see https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/101059487 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/101033928), the presumed host. Anthophora bomboides and perhaps occidentalis also nest there (see https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/100907601).
Photos / Sounds
What
Peacock Vinyl Lichen (Scytinium polycarpum)Observer
michaelrudyDescription
Guess for now, will revisit more photos later. Growing on mossy old growth Acer macrophyllum branches.
Photos / Sounds
What
Pulvinora pringleiObserver
michaelrudyDescription
I thought it was a Collema at first glance, but it is not at all jelly like when wet. Thallus is greenish, very three dimensional, and appears squamulose and brainlike, but upon collection the squamules look more like wrinkled lobes at the end of branching, tree like growths more or less arising from a white central area. Collected in the Kananaskis area of Alberta from non-calcareous rocks at very high elevation.
Some parts of the sample have what look like misshapen black apothecia on top, but I haven't been able to sample any of them yet to confirm.
Photos / Sounds
What
Texas Balloonwort (Sphaerocarpos texanus)Observer
bstarzomskiDescription
Very tiny: 2-3mm max, some individuals ~1mm. Growing on wet, silty soil
Photos / Sounds
What
Showy Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium reginae)Observer
michaelrudyDescription
This record represents the third record of this species from SK, but it has not been reported since at least 1992 from the province and was thought to be extirpated. Effectively this is a confirmation that this orchid species still persists in SK.
Photos / Sounds
What
Mary's Odorous Ant (Dolichoderus mariae)Observer
michaelrudyDescription
ID confirmed, Dr. James Glasier. This is the first record of the species from SK.
Sample accessioned, Royal Alberta Museum.
Photos / Sounds
What
Genus TolypothrixObserver
michaelrudyDescription
Growing on shaded limestone rock ledge on top of thin layer of soil and moss in limestone crevices. Occurs in a mixed cyanobacterial and soil diatom community, but this observation is for the turquoise strands.
- The species is filamentous, with sparse single false branching.
- It is nitrogen fixing and has orange quadratic heterocytes, with an average size of 9.3 x 7.1 μm.
- Cell walls are relatively faint and hard to make out. The ones in the photos are the clearest I could manage.
- Filaments are approximately 6.5 μm wide (average of multiple filaments, excluding the sheath), and the sheath is approximately 1 μm wide, and dusted with precipitate.
Photos / Sounds
What
Shield Lichens, Rim Lichens, and Allies (Order Lecanorales)Observer
michaelrudyDescription
Growing on pink/whitish limestone. Spores appear to be either of two different types (one with easily visible and unique jigsaw-shaped septa, and the other with hard to see septa and intercellular speckling). Average spore sizes (n=8 each) are 15.7 x 3.8 μm (jigsaw septa) and 17.9 x 4.4 μm (opaque spores) for the two types.
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What
Orange Rock Hair (Trentepohlia aurea)Observer
dunnderDescription
Orange lichen(?) growing on limestone.
Photos / Sounds
Observer
wdvanhemDescription
FBO bryophyte trip to Inglis Falls led by Jennifer Doubt.
Photos / Sounds
What
Arctic Yellowjacket (Dolichovespula albida)Observer
michaelrudyDescription
White stripes, wide oculo-malar spaces, and rufous spot are diagnostic for this species.
This is an unusual observation of the species including a nest, as nests are almost never seen.
This is also quite a southerly record for a nest of this Arctic species.
Photos / Sounds
What
Porsild's Bryum (Haplodontium macrocarpum)Observer
michaelrudyDescription
This is a previously undiscovered seep of this globally imperiled moss, which is heavily threatened due to climate change and is known from only 19 sites in Canada.
Sample confirmed by Dr. Caners, Royal Alberta Museum.
Location obscured to protect the population.
