the pale powdery lichen of NZ's shaded bark surfaces
- Size
- Width: 2–10 cm
- Lifespan
- 10–30 years
- Diet
- Grows on bark of trees, rocks, and wood in damp, shaded forests. Requires clean air, stable bark surfaces, and high humidity. Tolerates shade and moisture but cannot survive prolonged drought.
- Habitat
- Grows on the bark of trees, on rocks, and on wood in damp, shaded forests throughout New Zealand. A creature of the damp bark, the shaded trunk, the places where the tree is old and the air is humid. The lichen of the cottony surface, the one that looks soft but is not.
- Range
- Found throughout the North and South Islands on bark of trees, rocks, and wood in damp, shaded forests. Most common in the South Island's beech forests and the North Island's western ranges. Also found in tropical and temperate regions worldwide.
- Endemism
- Native
- Main Threats
- None significant. This species is common but under-recorded. Requires damp, undisturbed forests with clean air and stable bark surfaces. Localised threats include forest clearance, air pollution, and bark disturbance.
- Population
- Not Threatened, though easily overlooked due to its cottony appearance. Crocynia lichen is likely under-recorded in New Zealand, as it requires stable bark surfaces in damp, undisturbed forests. More survey work is needed to understand its true distribution.
- Conservation Status
- Not Threatened
The one that looks like it is wearing a fuzzy sweater has a body that is a thin, crusty layer on the bark, but it is not smooth like other crustose lichens. It is covered in a dense mat of tiny, cottony fibres, like a piece of soft felt or a scrap of cotton wool. The colour is pale greyish-white to pale greenish-grey. It looks soft, looks touchable, looks like it would be pleasant to stroke. But it is not. It is scratchy, brittle, and slightly unpleasant to touch. It is the lichen of the false promise, the one that looks soft but is not.
What makes it special is the deception. Crocynia lichen is one of the most deceptive lichens in New Zealand. Its cottony surface looks soft and inviting, like a piece of felt or a soft moss. But when you touch it, you find that it is rough and scratchy, made of brittle fibres that break at a touch. It is the lichen of the false invitation, the one that tricks you into touching it and then disappoints, the one that proves that appearances can be deceiving.
The crocynia lichen is a crustose lichen, meaning it grows flat on the bark or rock, like a crust of paint, but with a distinctive cottony texture. Its body is a mat of tiny, branched fibres (hyphae) that spread across the surface. The colour is pale, often with a greenish tint from the algae inside. Under a hand lens, the fibres are visible, a tangled web of white threads.
Biologically, the crocynia lichen is a partnership, a fungus and an alga living together. The fungus provides structure and protection. The alga provides food through photosynthesis. The cottony fibres are the fungal hyphae, loosely woven together to form a protective layer over the algae.
To find crocynia lichen is to find the cottony patch on the bark. It is pale, fuzzy, and deceptive, a false promise on the tree. You will want to touch it. You will think it will be soft. You will be wrong. It is the lichen of the cottony surface, the one that looks soft but is not, the one that teaches a lesson about not judging by appearances.