The Secret World of Lichens - A Review
T he Secret World of Lichens Written by Troy McMullin Cover and interior design: Gareth Lind Published by Firefly Books Ltd. (2022) Fairy Puke Lichen. Yes, that’s right. I could’ve started with Christmas Lichen or Devil’s Matchstick Lichen, of course, or the fantastically-named Blushing Rock Tripe Lichen. Or maybe Dead Man’s Fingers does it for you? Well, they’re all here in this wonderful introduction to lichens by Troy McMullin, the Canadian Museum of Nature’s Head of Botany and chief lichenologist. Enlivened by stunning photography, this is a book that encourages young naturalists to ‘look closely’ in their local environment for these wonderful organisms and to discover a secret world of bright colours, interesting shapes and super fun names! The book opens with McMullin explaining what lichens are, what they look like and how they reproduce. The detail is considerable, but it is given context by a series of photographs of the three main types of liche...