LACE LICHEN TRAIL

Parallels main road coastward from entrance station through meadow and woods. 1/2 mile, 10 minutes. Marshy after rain.

The gray stringy lichen, for which the trail is named, hangs from trees that grow where the climate is cool and humid and where there is little sun. Lace lichen does not harm the trees; it is found on the branches that have already died from lack of sunlight. A lichen is a combination of a fungus (the framework) and a green algae (the food producer). Supposedly, both plants benefit by the association. Deer like to eat this lichen, and birds carry it off for nesting materials.

After rains, colorful mushrooms, such as the poisonous and prevalent red fly Amanita, push up through the thick pine needle mat which prevents most other plants from growing.