Urban Lichens Walking Tour at Ridgewood Reservoir

Lichens are dynamic, symbiotic organisms formed by close cooperation between fungi and algae. There are over 20,000 identified species performing essential ecosystem services worldwide. Extremely sensitive to air pollution, they have returned to cities from which they were absent for decades until the air became cleaner.

This guide is the first to introduce urban naturalists to over 60 of the common lichens now found in cities and urban areas throughout northeastern North America–in parks and schoolyards, on streets, and in open spaces. Divided into three sections — lichen basics, including their biology, chemistry, morphology, and role in human history; species accounts and descriptions; and an illustrated glossary, index, and references for further reading — the book aims to connect city dwellers and visitors with the natural world around them. The descriptions, exquisite photographs, and line drawings will enable users to enter the hidden world of lichens.

About the Speaker:

James Lendemer is the lichenologist at The New York Botanical Garden where he studies lichen biodiversity and conservation, focusing on eastern North America. He earned a Ph.D. in Biology from the City University of New York, where he studied lichen taxonomy. Originally from Philadelphia, his passion for these unsung yet heroic symbioses stems from a career working to unlock the wonders of museum collections and connect them to the patterns and processes at play in the world around us.