Title: Macrolichens
Instructor: Gary Perlmutter
Dates: May 1, 3, 5, 8, and 10
Times: 7–9PM ET
Tuition Cost: $195
Description: Macrolichens (fruticose and foliose lichens) are often the showiest forms of lichens in many habitats, yet they often make up less than half of a total lichen biota. This seminar will expose participants to the biology and diversity of macrolichens with a focus in North America. Participants will learn terminology that describes characters of these lichens and their lifestyles and how these characters are used to identify species. Participants will learn how to collect and prepare specimens so they can build a starter collection of their own. They have the option to share specimens with other participants so these can be identified and discussed during the seminar. The citizen science platform iNaturalist will be used to build a seminar checklist.
About the Instructor: Gary Perlmutter is an Associate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium (NCU). Originally from southern California, he first became interested in lichens and lichenology while studying at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (SBBG) as an independent researcher in 1996. Gary took his skills, curiosity and starter collection of about 25 specimens from a lichen workshop at SBBG to North Carolina where he has been active in collecting, studying and teaching lichen classes and workshops since his arrival in 2003. Gary is an Eagle Hill alumnus, having taken the Crustose Lichen workshop taught by Irwin Brodo in 2005. In 2016 Gary has earned a M.S. degree from North Carolina State University with the thesis: “Assessing Highway Pollution Effects on Forest Lichen Communities in Western Wake County, North Carolina, USA.” Gary has published several papers in peer-reviewed journals and newsletters from 2005 to present, as well as managing the lichen collection at NCU and the North Carolina lichen checklist. Gary has taught various virtual lichen seminars at Eagle Hill since 2020.
