Lichen Growth

Who invented lichenometry? In the 1950s a botanist, Roland Beschel, graphed the size of the largest lichen found on tombstones of different ages. He then used the graph to estimate the age of stones that had lichens but no dates. This is how lichenometry started. Are all large lichens old? No, not all large lichens are old. Some lichens grow fast because they get an ideal combination of fertilizer (bird droppings), moisture and sun. In some lichens it is possible for neighbors to merge together to form a much larger "individual." Users of lichenometry avoid lichens that look like they are mergers of two or more neighbors.

© D. McCarthy © D. McCarthy

Introduction

Measuring Lichen Growth