# Are you likin' my lichen?



## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

Whenever I drive by this spot, I can't help notice the lichen-festooned trees. It's really thick and long in this area. I've collected a ziplock bag or two for scenery projects. 

Would this be worth collecting for other members to use on their layouts? It's just so plentiful it seems I should gather some if it had any value. The deer love it when one of these trees finally falls and they get to snack on all the lichen suddenly within their reach.

-Ed


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Go for it Ed, gather a lot and clean the debris out of it pine needles etc.
It is better out of a tree as it has less debris in it.
One thing is that you will have to process it to preserve it, unprocessed lichen will not keep.
Your biggest expense will be buying glycerin.
I can get me some glycerin for free but I don't think there is any growing around me. 

Not really hard to process check it out,
http://www.pomfret.com/user/railroad/tips/lichen/

If the price is right maybe you can sell some here. :smokin:


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

Thanks! I had a darkroom setup and a chemical called Photoflow used glycerin to prevent spotting. I still have a bottle.

I noticed old lichen crumbled, so now I know what to do about it!
-Ed


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Looks more like Spanish Moss than lichen.Pete


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

norgale said:


> Looks more like Spanish Moss than lichen.Pete


After I posted the link to the site on how to preserve it, I did notice that it looked very different then from what they had showing on the ground, Pete.
I didn't know so I didn't want to "criticize" him. :smokin:
I thought maybe somehow it was just a different form of lichen? 

I know we don't have anything that looks like that hanging from trees up here in Jersey. (unless it is a Gypsy moth cocoon) 
And I guess lichen forms on the ground and not in trees?

I guess Jersey has lichen somewhere? They say it is abundant in a lot of states.


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

Thanks, I wouldn't know and didn't try to look it up. I just liked it being lichen for the catchy thread title. 

-Ed


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Ed Gerken said:


> Thanks, I wouldn't know and didn't try to look it up. I just liked it being lichen for the catchy thread title.
> 
> -Ed


Now you got to figure out a way to preserve it. 

You could try hair spray...maybe see what happens.

I didn't know they had Spanish moss out where you are?
I thought that it was only in the deep South?


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

Two Eds are better than one!  

I don't know what this stuff is, maybe Spanish Rolling Moss out to gather some stones? Some type of moss is probably correct and not lichen. But I do know years ago a guy and his wife ran a gun/book/model train store here and I did work for him. He was always happy to get a ziplock bag full of it from me to peddle with his other wares.

I think I could fill several garbage bags full in this spot and not make much of a dent in it. Pine beetles have hit many of these trees and they are coming down in high winds. Quite a bit is within easy reach on trees still standing.

We collected some last year, so I dug it out. I was surprised to see it was still just about as flexible as when we gathered it. Essentially zero disintegration at the bottom of the baggie. I dragged out a few strands to show it better. We just put it raw into a ziplock, left it open for awhile to dry a bit, sealed it up and stuck it away with our other RR stuff.

I'll be happy to mail out a few freshly-collected samples gratis to see if anyone here can make use of it. Send me a PM.

-Ed


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Maybe one could take small pieces and hang them in their trees for the moss look?
It looks too stringy to use on the layout?

Yea, after I posted the link I went back to look at yours and said man that don't look like the lichen you can buy in the stores. 
Lichen grows on the ground too I think not in trees? I could be wrong about that, I guess no one knows as they won't say anything.:dunno:

But I thought maybe there was another kind and did not want to say anything.
I thought that only grew in the deep south. That is hanging all over down there.


If you use it show how here please.
Try hair spray on some see what happens.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

I found some of this stuff that grows on the reeds in wet areas and took some home. I sprayed it with clear Matte spray hoping to preserve it. I didn't have any hair spray and the old (young) lady doesn't use it. Though I keep telling her to pick me up a can for the RR she must think I am kidding. :dunno:










You can see it in use here,

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=13154

I added it in my thread.


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

I like the look of those, almost ready to transplant just as they are.

The moss looks better in much smaller doses. They look like wispy dead bushes or small trees. Tore down that far to little branches of moss, a little of that stuff goes a long way.

There's also a shorter and stouter variety also found in the pine trees. They resemble shrubs or bramble. They are often stuck to a bit of bark which serves as a natural base.

I planted a few of each in some lumps of clay next to a couple of our first experiments with scratch-building for scale.

I think I like the shorter stuff better, but they mix well together for some variety in shapes and height.

-Ed


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

How are you trying to preserve it?
Won't it eventually turn to dust if you don't treat it somehow?

Roll it up and dye it, it would make a good tumble weed.


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

Sandy, my wife and keeper of the community brain, tells me some of that scenery stuff was gathered two years ago, not last year. I just know we went whole hog buying used trains and buildings, also scratch-building supplies and looking for wild-grown scenery materials. 

But going by my prior post dates here, it was probably spring and summer of 2012 when we picked the native materials.

Either way, they were all still very flexible with no crumbling when I ripped pieces off or did some shaping, so I haven't done anything with them to preserve them. I guess I'd rather get them as I'd want to use them and then hit 'em with the hairspray as a last step.

Just playing around with a few, I did try yellow and green spray paint in a coloring attempt, but it wasn't very convincing. 

If my little stash goes bad before I use it, I know where there's plenty of fresh stuff! 

Shoot me a pm Ed, and I'll mail off a sample of it to you.

-Ed


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## mnp13 (Aug 22, 2013)

I'm loving that outhouse Ed.


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

Thanks Michelle! More pics of it here: http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=10843


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## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

You can use glycerine to preserve it, if needed.


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

Thanks, Big Ed mentioned glycerin. I'm not going to worry about it till we're actually constructing a layout. 

Here's a pic for Michelle. Sandy was happy to hear the compliments on her scratchbuilt outhouse. These are just some tiny blossoms on wild plants that grow around here. She wanted to place them as a vine over the roof, but tiny as they are, they looked huge in HO, so I did them as flowering bushes and plucked a few individual blossoms for the border. Hoping for a little nicer scent, perhaps?  

I wonder if hair spray would preserve the natural green and white colors of foilage and flowers?

-Ed


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## mnp13 (Aug 22, 2013)

I _think_ if you use Borax to dry them the colors will stay, but I'm not sure how brittle they will end up.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

You can try food dye also, that might work and it comes in an assortment of different colors. 

I have been trying to see what I could use it for, it looks too stringy.

Why don't you hunt for some real lichen? I never looked for it but they say it is all over the place. It has been a while since I have been in the woods, but I never noticed it anywhere.

But I also wasn't looking for it.

Do you have any swampy/wet areas out there where cattails/(punks, I call them) grow?


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

Michele,
I happen to have some Borax, thanks for the tip! And glycerin and food coloring, for that matter. I think it would be fun to include flowers in a layout. 

We've pressed and framed dried flowers and they've kept their strong hues for many years now. They're kinda flat, though. 










Big Ed,
I show two types above, here's the pic of the shorter and bushier type. There's one stringy type way over to the right. I still need to research a bit to find out what I've gathered. It only matters to me as a way to correctly describe it. If it looks good on a layout, I'll use it.

We have boggy areas around the lakes here, one is less than a mile from here. We've collected other wild plants, but I didn't show any of those.

-Ed


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

I found what my stuff is, it is an invasive plant grows so well it kills off others.
It is all over NJ.

I checked your state it is there too if you want to keep an eye open for some. Though none is found in Black Hills for some reason. Now is the time to get it before it turns brown. Look in wet marshy ares along side water.
See attached picture.


Common Reed
Phragmites australis

Common reed, native to Europe, has become a destructive weed. It can quickly displace desirable wetland plant species such as wild rice, cattails, and native orchids.












Common reed is a tall perennial wetland grass ranging in height from 3 to 20 ft. Its cane-like stems, 1 in. in diameter, support broad sheath-type leaves. Large dense, featherlike, grayish purple plumes, 5 to 16 in. long, are produced in late June to September. The plant turns tan in the fall and most leaves drop off, leaving only the plume-topped shoot. The root system is comprised of rhizomes reaching to 6 ft. deep that spread and form large colonies by giving rise to roots and tough vertical stalks. Common reed thrives in sunny wetland habitats. It is particularly prevalent in disturbed or polluted soils with alkaline and brackish waters, but will tolerate highly acidic conditions. It can grow in water up to 6 ft. deep and also in somewhat dry sites. It can be found along roadsides, ditches, open wetlands, riverbanks, lake shores, dredged areas, and disturbed or undisturbed plant communities. Invasive stands of common reed eliminate diverse wetland plant communities, and provide little food or shelter for wildlife. Its high biomass blocks light to other plants and occupies all the growing space below ground. Plant communities can turn into a Phragmites monoculture very quickly.


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

Yeah, I don't recognize that plant around here. Nothing 12 feet tal anyway.

I did some looking and some types of reindeer moss/lichen look similar. The terms lichen and moss were almost interchangeable in the few links I followed.

Check out this site! 
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/moss.html

-Ed


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## eljefe (Jun 11, 2011)

If it's weeds you're looking to buy, I got a whole yard's worth to sell ya!


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

Hmm, sounds interesting! Send me detailed closeup pics with IDs of each weed you wish to sell and a price. I'll study them for suitability and get back to you hopefully this year yet. Thanks! :lol:

-Ed


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

The flowers bu the outhouse look beeeutiful. :smilie_daumenpos:

Is the outhouse HO sized? 
Paint in a little flesh on the pooper? 

Maybe a clear matte spray would work?

The site that is listed with the moss and stuff has your Spanish moss for sale too, did you see it?


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