Going to School at Arthur's

Arthur's Pass National Park, July 22nd 2015

Going to "school" at Arthur's Pass National Park

Much to my disappointment, I didn't meet even one kea at Arthur's Pass. So weird, so contradictory to what I have read and heard about Arthur's Pass. However, I learned something which I never thought I would have so much interest in.

Come with me!

My "school desk". Imagine one with a pile of books on top.

You know what, my first thought when I saw these was, "Hey, seaweed! Seaweed on the mountain. Ahahaha." Quoting from T.E.R;R.A.I.N

Dicranoloma, a type of moss.

The moss of the genus: Dicranoloma is reconizedby their glossy narrow falcate tapering leaves forming grass like mats on the floors and trunks of beech/podocarp forest of New Zealand.
There are 10 species recognized in New Zealand and some have to be identified with a microscope as some species are so vaiable.

Podocarp Forest

 "on the floors and trunks of beech/podocarp forest" that's exactly how it was.

What's a podocarp forest? How many layers are they? Visit Kiwi Conservation Club. It's a site for kids who are wild about nature. Not said I, but says the tagline :D

Lobariate Lichen (Pseudocyphellaria homeophylla)

Originally my eyes were drawn by the unique shape and color combinations. It looks like just nothing, and yet beautiful. Then it became my first lesson about lichen. Googling, googling... can you believe it, there's a website dedicated to lichen?

Quoting from the biology section:

Lichens are composite, symbiotic organisms made up from members of as many as three kingdoms.

The dominant partner is a fungus. Fungi are incapable of making their own food. They usually provide for themselves as parasites or decomposers.

"Lichens are fungi that have discovered agriculture"-- lichenologist Trevor Goward.

The lichen fungi (kingdom Fungi) cultivate partners that manufacture food by photosynthesis. Sometimes the partners are algae (kingdom Protista), other times cyanobacteria (kingdom Monera), formerly called blue-green algae. Some enterprising fungi exploit both at once.

.......

Other lichen fungi make spores. These white-rimmed, peach-colored disks of Ochrolechia oregonensis are fruiting bodies (called apothecia), where the fungus produces spores.  

White-rimmed. Did you see it just now?

Menegazzia, another lichen.

At first I thought these were the same as the Lobariate Lichen. No. The green foliose (leaf-like) curls downwards instead of upwards, and the fungi are not white rimmed. After scrolling down the 228 pages of an e-Book: NZ Foliose Lichen Key, I decided these are Menegazzia. To my great satisfaction, the photo example from Wikipedia was also taken at Arthur's Pass. Yeehaa!

Snow Totara (with just a little bit of snow :D)

Moss, lichen, fern, and ice.

My main object was of course that mini stalactite ice, because yay... NZ has become more winter-like for me!

Snow is actually never just ice.

Red rocks, painted by Trentepohlia.

Copying from the information sheet at Arthur's Pass Visitor Centre:

Why stop at painting the town red, when we can paint every rock. It's all done by a family (genus) of algae called Trentepohlia. A filamentous alga with red or orange oil in the cells. The greywacke river rocks of Arthur's Pass National Park are particularly prone to these growths, especially on northern aspects.

A little close up.