Cemetery Lichens

Lichens are friendly and interesting organisms that love to grow on headstones and old trees. They are harmless to your plants and add aesthetic value to trees and shrubs. We can actually use them as indicators of air pollution! Cemeteries can take on new meaning as a fun place to observe a symbiotic organism made up of fungus and algae. You will also learn about common lichens found in an urban environment and take home a user-friendly chart that lists lichens found in your neighborhood. Join Dr. Katherine Glew and the UW Botanic Gardens to get a head start on learning lichens from your local cemetery. You can enjoy Hallowe'en looking for lichens rather than scary witches and pumpkin heads.

Instructor Katherine Glew, Ph.D. is Curatorial Associate of Lichens at the University of Washington Herbarium, Burke Museum. She manages historic collections and processes lichens from the Pacific Northwest and Russian Far East. In addition to assisting with lichen curation, her research interests include alpine lichen community structure on Mount Rainier, Olympic National Park, North Cascades and lichens found on the smaller islands in Washington's San Juan Archipelago.