The Sand Pine Trail at Rocky Bayou State Park has some deer lichen similar to that on the Red Cedar Trail. You see primarily powder-puff lichen (tentatively Cladonia evansii). On 2009-04-27 I photographed a close-up of sprawling Jester lichen type deer lichen (tentatively Cladonia leporina), shown above. This growth is merely a small area near the trail. See a photo of a larger part of the area, which I discovered on 2009-04-24. The GPS coordinates are: 30° 29' 31.5" N, 086° 25' 28.6" W.
In this view notice the red fruiting bodies. I could see only a few of these there. Also notice the black portions adhering to the surface or part of the stems. I can't tell if that is damage, disease, or a development for the plant. I haven't noticed that kind of growth before. I have the impression that the jesters are not doing well in this location. I found only one other site in the park, on the Red Cedar Trail. They can't compare with my experience of extensive growths of these plants in south Walton county, in Pt. Washington State Forest and the local state parks. See also a photo from the park with powder-puff and jester lichen together.
On May 2, 2009 wholeo.net hosted a deer lichen display and led a hike at 2 p.m. as part of the Choctawhatchee Estuary Family Festival. See a map of the Red Cedar Nature Trail for the hike. See a FAQ handout.
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Deer lichen site 4.6b. Back to Rocky Bayou SP or deer lichen.
