“Arctic tumbleweed (Masonhalea richardsonii) is a traveller’s joy. Few people live so far north they can step out their door and say “oh, arctic tumbleweed!”. It’s a lichen, big and showy. Photographers love it. When rained on, it’s stretched out, glossy olive brown, reminiscent of caribou antlers. When dry, its goes sombre, matte and curled up. Most lichens grow from a holdfast that keeps them from blowing away. Arctic tumbleweed shuns attachment, a windblown traveller. “Masonhalea” for Mason Hale Jr. (1929-1990), preeminent American lichenologist; “richardsonii” for John Richardson (1787-1865), a keen Scottish naturalist who wandered arctic tumbleweed territory.“

Curtis Bjork, Lichenologist and Botanist at UBC.