Mar 21 2019
James Lendemer is one of the youngest curators at the New York Botanical Garden and has been obsessed with lichens since his childhood in Philadelphia. Lichens are not plants but fungi that form unique symbioses with algae and cyanobacteria for the purpose of obtaining nutrition. They grow everywhere, whether you realize it or not. James has discovered many species new to science from isolated mountain peaks in southern Appalachia, dense tropical swamps of North Carolina, and even a tire track in southern New Jersey blueberry farm.
His love of lichens and the American natural landscape comes across in the names of the species he and his colleagues have described: Bacidia gullahgeechee named after the Gullah Geechee communities of coastal South; Hypotrachyna oprah named in honor of Oprah Winfrey; Japewiella dollypartoniana named after Dolly Parton; Megalaria alligatorensis named after the Alligator River in North Carolina; Graphis tamiamiensis named after the Tamiami Trail in Florida.
"Lichens connect me to nature, they are like friends I visit with. Some I see only every now and then, some are old friends I make a special trip every year to check on, others are familiar and we get to hang out all the time."
