Lettuce Lichen



Photo by Daniel Mathews


If you live in the Pacific Northwest you've probably seen me before. I kind of look like a piece of lettuce or maybe a lung so people call me Lettuce Lichen or Lung Lichen. My scientific name is Lobaria oregana and I am the largest in my family. I like to be in areas where there is a lot of water and I can hang out on the branches of trees. When the wind gets really gusty you can find me on the ground waiting to decompose and provide nitrogen to the soil. I pride myself in playing a key role in this ecosystem because I am a nitrogen fixer. I take nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into ammonia which then other plants can use to grow and thrive. Pretty cool huh!?