Just another WordPress site

Introduction -Will Andresen

Written by

introtoflora_txoje4

in

Hey, I’m Will Andresen! I grew up in Anchorage and have been bouncing between Fairbanks and Cordova for school and work. I come from a long line of bush pilots and have had the privilege to explore and fish in some pretty neat spots here.

I enjoy getting out to fish and going on hikes, and I also enjoy baking occasionally when time permits. I’m currently trying to learn how to forage more, so I’m excited to see what this course has to offer. I just got back from a hike at Sheridan Glacier and got to see some cool plant life on the way, including some cabbage lungwort!

This here is what I believe is called Cabbage Lungwort!

Comments

One response to “Introduction -Will Andresen”

  1. Stefanie Ickert-Bond Avatar
    Stefanie Ickert-Bond

    Welcome Will,
    pretty cool image of your lichen. Wow, I have not seen this one before. It is showing the abundant, orange apothecia on upper surface of the lichen. Here we have another example of how common names are rather descriptive, yes it might look a little like cabbage, but it is really not a flowering plant like cabbage, rather a lichen. The name cabbage lungwort comes from their superficial resemblance to human lung tissue. In medieval medical belief known as “The Doctrine of Signatures”, these plants were used to treat pulmonary illnesses such as tuberculosis and asthma. But these beliefs are pure imagination, but considering these lichens as part of our planetary “lungs”, the temperate rainforests, comes closer to the truth. These lichens are able to accomplish the rare feat of fixing atmospheric nitrogen from the air and later when they decay, that nitrogen is made available to the entire ecosystem. Very interesting.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More posts