May 18
Wolf lichen
Wolf lichen (Letharia vulpina) is fairly rare in Sweden and it’s on the decline – you’re most likely to find it in the northern Dalarna and in Härjedalen, and that puts Loos in the right neighbourhood. The only time I’ve seen it in Sweden so far was in Tännäs a few years ago, but today I got a tip on a location near Loos. Thanks to (or rather, because of) modern forestry, wolf lichen is all but disappeared in forested areas but it also grows on bogs and we’ve got plenty of those here. The colour of this poisonous lichen is very special, so it’s impossible to mix it up with any other lichen. Wolf lichen is no doubt my favourite lichen and now that I know that it grows around here, I’m looking forward to future encounters!
We don’t have this lichen in Finland any more, enjoy while you still can.