Common Lichens of the Upland Southeast: Appalachia and the Piedmont (Princeton Field Guides)

A photographic field guide to the lichens commonly found in the southeastern uplands of the United StatesLichens are plantlike organisms that grow on virtually any surface, from rocks and trees to wooden fences and granite markers.Formed from the symbiotic cooperation of fungi and algae, they are unlike anything else in the natural world, serving as environmental sentinels and exhibiting an array of beautiful colors.This richly illustrated field guide dispenses with jargon-heavy and overly generalized technical descriptions to focus instead on the unique regionally specific ecologies and distributions of species and their visible characters.Ideal for beginners and experts alike, Common Lichens of the Upland Southeast enables anyone with a hand lens to identify practically any species encountered in the backyard, on hikes in the wilderness, and wherever lichens can be found in this richly biodiverse region of North America. Presents a new and simplified way to identify the key features