As promised, this post is all about a Newtonmore lamppost. If you want to see it for yourself, it is opposite the entrance of the Folk Museum, on the opposite side of the main road from the entrance. It is metal and has been painted blue. That does not sound like the most promising home for lichens but you may be surprised...
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| The lamppost |
Lichens are sensitive to pollution, and the circles near the bottom of the lamppost probably get more pollution from the road which would inhibit growth so the lichens are smaller scraps. The yellow lichen is Xanthoria parietina which is tolerant of pollution.
At the top, the lichens are more abundant with green leafy lichens filling the circle. There is also a bright pink blob in the right hand picture. This is a fungus that grows on lichens! Everything has its niche. This one is easy to spot but its name is more complicated: Illiosporiopsis christiansenii.
There is an explanation for why the lichens are growing in circular patches. In the past, there was an admission charge to enter the Folk Museum, and you were given a round sticker with the day of the week printed on it which showed you had paid. As people left the museum and walked to Newtonmore village, they stuck their sticker on the first lamppost they passed. At some point, someone removed this litter from the post but it left a layer of glue which provided a settling place for lichen spores and produced these little islands of biodiversity. As there is a Scots Pine next to the lamppost, there would be a "rain" of lichens fragments falling down just waiting for a place to settle.
