Blooming apple tree with lichens in front of granite cliff, Mussel Creek estuary, Mussel Inlet, mid-coast British Columbia
The trees in the Great Bear Rainforest and the Fiordland Conservancy in mid-coast British Columbia are heavily coated with long strands of lichen (Usnea species, probably Usnea longissima). Usnea longissima grows best in old growth forests. Usnea species are very sensitive to air pollution, especially sulfur dioxide (which is found ,in car exhausts), so its range has been much reduced. The luxuriant growth of the lichen in the roadless wilderness of the Great Bear Rainforest is indicative of the excellent non-polluted air quality in this undisturbed north temperate rain forest. These lichens has been used medicinally for at least 1600 years. They contains a potent antibiotic and antifungal agent. The hairlike structure of the lichen, and its antimicrobial properties, means that Usnea can be used to treating surface wounds when sterile gauze and modern antibiotics are unavailable. There were a few apple trees in the Mussel Creek estuary. I thought they may have been planted as a result of the mining or prospecting activity that occurred in the mid 1800s. The adjacent fjord (Khutze Inlet) did have copper mine at one point, now long abandoned.
Size: 2400px × 3600px
Location: Mussel Creek estuary, Mussel Inlet, mid-coast British Columbia, Canada
Photo credit: © Terry Allen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: apple, bear, beard, blossoms, british, canada, cliff, coastal, columbia, conservancy, creek, estuary, fiordland, fjord, granite, great, hair, hanging, inlet, lichen, longissima, man, methuselah, mid-coast, mussel, rainforest, species, tree, usnea
