![]() NPS / Will Elder ![]() NPS / Keir Morse Lichens are a symbiotic partnership of two separate organisms, a fungus and an alga. Visitors can easily see the abundance and diversity of these unique life forms at Pinnacles National Park. The rocky outcrops for which Pinnacles is named provide excellent habitat, and many of the rock surfaces appear to be painted in shades of red, orange, yellow, green, and brown due to lichen growth. In 2003, we inventoried the lichens at Pinnacles. The project aimed to create a comprehensive lichen species list and reference collection for Pinnacles. The other goals were to collect basic information about distribution and abundance, obtain GPS data for new occurrences of rare lichens, and identify species tsuitable for long-term monitoring programs. Based on the results of this inventory and previous records, the total number of lichens known to occur at Pinnacles National Monument is over 290. We estimate that another 40-50 species remain to be found here. Check out the 2003 lichen report. |
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Last updated: October 31, 2023