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Newfoundland Lichen Education & Research Group (NLERG)

Erioderma pedicellatum -Boreal Felt Lichen

ERIODERMA -An Enlichening Journey

By Eugene Conway

After hiking through the Avalon Forest for a couple of decades I finally discovered the meaning of the old addage that sometimes "you can't see the forest for the trees " or in my case I couldn't see the "trees for the forest".

For almost a quarter of a century I had enjoyed all the peace and tranquility that nature has to offer here in Newfoundland.

My "special place" to enjoy this peace and tranquility has been Eco-Region V, the Central Avalon Peninsula a small area consisting mostly of ponds and gullies intertwined with the forest and bogs.

For many years I traveled through those forests and bogs on my way to catch the "big one" that I always believed to be lurking in the depths of one of those hundreds of small gullies scattered throughout the bogs. And no matter how big the "big one" was I always believed there was another gulley with a bigger fish waiting behind the next ridge.

Although most often than not the "big one" got away, the journey to those gullies was such that there was rarely a disappointing moment. The artistic tranquility around me never failed to leave me in awe of the artist who created such beauty.

Whether I was hiking for hours through river valleys filled with moss laden trees or soaking up the sun while resting on a ridge cluttered with the remains of an old yellow birch that once dominated the valley below, and now spending its final hours laying in a carpet of ferns and grasses.

Or the experience of an August afternoon walk near Ripple Pond and almost tripping over a Bull Moose lying under a large fallen tree, with both of us unaware of each others existence until I decide to scale the tree and than as if an earthquake had hit, the whole earth explodes.

Or the surprise attack from a mother hawk defending its young while I am enjoying a walk along an old horse logging trail by the Clam River or the heart pounding thunderous roar from a Canada Goose as it takes flight from a small brook in the headwaters of Rocky River, and the soothing effect just a few minutes later as I am greeted by the playful antics of a couple of Otter.

Or the thrill of standing no more than twenty feet from a young Lynx while ice fishing in the Goose Steadies, with both us reaching a new level of appreciation for each other for having shared those few moments, or enjoying the old Newfoundland tradition of boiling the kettle and heating up a piece of fresh salt codfish while hiking through Lockyer's Waters.

Unfortunately by 1997 commercial logging was rapidly overtaking those moss laden river valleys and fern covered ridges and the chance of catching a bigger one in some yet hidden gulley was becoming less and less. By now it was also obvious that it would take a lot more than memories of peace and tranquility to halt the skidder onslaught toward those old trees that once hid the wildlife I had become so accoustomed to encountering.

However in what can only be described as one of natures marvelous wonders, when all appeared to be lost and the last tree would become just another page for the New York Times the " big one" that had eluded me for decades arose out of the fog that hangs like a shroud over the Avondale Wilderness.

Although this big one had neither fins, wings, legs nor roots, the tree lichen Erioderma Pedicellatum revealed one of natures greatest wonders. The ability to combine the algae from the gully and the fungus from the forest to create something that is capable of living on those moss laden fir trees scattered through out the river valleys is what makes this creature unique.

Although this wildlife species has been around for over four hundred million years it only became part of my universe a few short years ago and with it a renewed appreciation for the wonders that the Central Avalon still holds.

Since that very first sighting in August 1996 I have spent several hundred hours of tranquility in the presence of this amazing creature, yet I still remain in awe at its silent cry for help.

Time and time again I have found myself walking into a stand of several thousand trees and within a few short minutes being mysteriously guided to the one and perhaps the only Erioderma to be found within a kilometer.

Without question the unexplainable mystic of this silent plea is certainly why Erioderma Pedicellatum deserves to be called the "Panda Bear" of Lockyers Waters.

While many snickered in 1996 at the suggestion that this lowly creature be protected from logging, today Erioderma Pedicellatum stands tall and still remains the master of the few remaining old trees left in the Central Avalon .

And for that we have to acknowledge those who have dedicated their lives helping others understand the unique wildlife that is so often hidden by the beauty of the forest.

If you have any questions about this site or need more information about Erioderma pedicellatum E-mail erioderma_seaside@hotmail.com