Country: The litmus plant

From: The Independent (London, England) | Date: February 22, 1997| Author: | Copyright information

It is best not to say it to Frank Dobson, one-time crack pistol shot (British team, Rome Olympics, 1960) and erstwhile part-time skipper of a Thames River police launch, but lichens are really quite boring in a way.

He is one of the leading lights in the 600-member British Lichen Society, and they are a truly dedicated bunch. The objects of their interest are what's called lower, or prim-itive, biota. Telling the species apart is as difficult as spotting which sphagnum moss is which. They are, it may be said, more varied than the grasses, the ferns, or even the fungi (or mushrooms). All the ...

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