I am struggling to ID this colourful lichen, so I’m calling out for assistance: is there anyone out there familiar with lichens in Alberta (or perhaps North America) who can help me with a name for this? While hiking in Johnston Canyon in Banff National Park this fall, a group of us found a prolific brilliant yellow growth on several trees in one particular location. (This was above the upper falls, en route to the Ink Pots). It actually looked as if the trees were glowing, like they had been spray painted gold. There was a trickle of a mineral-laden spring nearby and we wonder if that has something to do with the unusual growth on specimens in just that area, but we really can’t explain it. I am familiar with old man’s beard lichen and wolf lichen (and know that the latter can sometimes be bright yellow in colour) – but this doesn’t appear to be either of those. Thanks in advance if you can help out on this one; even if I don’t get a positive ID, it’s still a fascinating find.
Flowery Prose. 