A recent trip to an old salmon cannery revealed an exuberant growth of vibrant green moss and yellow lichen on the weathered north side and got us thinking—what, exactly, is lichen?
North-facing window, now boarded-up and coated in lichen and moss. Other photos of this location can be seen in this gallery on the Rommes Arts website. Photo: © Donald J. Rommes
During a week of gray skies and rain, we drove to the coast and to.an old salmon cannery. Built in the late 1800's, it operated for 3/4 of a century on the north end of the "spit" in Blaine, Washington. For a period of time in the 1950's, it was the largest salmon cannery in the world; canning a million cases in a single season.
The fortunes of the cannery faded with the decline of the salmon run, and in the 1960's it was sold and it's operations eventually ceased. These days, it sits on the property of a resort on the edge of the Salish Sea, in view of the San Juan Islands and a mile from the border with Canada.
A bannister and wire mesh separate the boardwalk from the cannery building. Both are coated in lichen and moss. Photo: © Donald J. Rommes
The cannery is in the intertidal zone and is thus elevated on thick wooden posts to keep it out of the water. A boardwalk, adjacent to the building on its north side, is separated from it by a low fence and wooden railing.
The Northside windows are mostly broken and have been boarded up and most are now coated by a crusty yellow material—lichen.
What is a lichen?
A lichen is actually two organisms functioning as a single, stable unit. Lichens comprise a fungus living in a symbiotic relationship with an alga or cyanobacterium (or both in some instances). There are about 17,000 species of lichen worldwide.
A fungus is incapable of photosynthesis, so they cannot harvest light energy from the sun and generate their own nutrition like plants. Instead, they need to seek out outside sources of food.
That's where the ubiquitous algae and cyanobacteria come in. They can conduct photosynthesis and make their own food—similar to plants. So when a fungus and an alga or cyanobacteria associate, the fungus is provided with food and the alga or cyanobacterium is provided with stable shelter. Both benefit.
Here next to the Canadian border, we tried not to overthink the notion of peaceful collaboration for mutual benefit, and instead focused on the lichen's bright pigments. Photographically speaking, the patterns of colorful lichen combined with the weathered wood and dilapidated structure, are mutually beneficial,
Panes of glass still remain in this window that sits imperfectly in its frame. Photo: © Donald J. Rommes.
Comments