Brad Von Blon
@bobcatbrad.bsky.social
I like to go outside. Tend to look at bryophytes & lichens in northern Michigan.
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Best moss find of the year so far, Meesia triquetra! Supposed to show up in fens and richer bogs but apparently not in most of the ones I hang out in. Got to a new field site and was IDing some gross, ugly sedges (yuck) when I spotted this next to some open water in some pretty sizable clumps!
August 2, 2026 at 12:57 PM
Best moss find of the year so far, Meesia triquetra! Supposed to show up in fens and richer bogs but apparently not in most of the ones I hang out in. Got to a new field site and was IDing some gross, ugly sedges (yuck) when I spotted this next to some open water in some pretty sizable clumps!
Heterogemma laxa from a large Sphagnum fuscum hummock in full sun. What a beauty! I only seem to find it in very well developed Sphagnum and only in the open, never in the shade, similar habitat to Mylia anomala but seemingly less common.
August 2, 2026 at 12:33 PM
Heterogemma laxa from a large Sphagnum fuscum hummock in full sun. What a beauty! I only seem to find it in very well developed Sphagnum and only in the open, never in the shade, similar habitat to Mylia anomala but seemingly less common.
Hoping I might’ve found Cinclidium stygium for the first time. It was showing up along the margins of a springy, seepy fen pool where I’d typically look for Catoscopium nigritum. Crum says “the younger leaves have a dewy-green freshness” and boy was he right, new growth not very stygian!
July 31, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Hoping I might’ve found Cinclidium stygium for the first time. It was showing up along the margins of a springy, seepy fen pool where I’d typically look for Catoscopium nigritum. Crum says “the younger leaves have a dewy-green freshness” and boy was he right, new growth not very stygian!
Viola selkirkii, maybe my favorite violet? I love the big spur that reminds me of a thumb and the way the top petals pull back like dog ears (dog likeness not to be confused with V. labradorica)
May 10, 2026 at 11:48 PM
Viola selkirkii, maybe my favorite violet? I love the big spur that reminds me of a thumb and the way the top petals pull back like dog ears (dog likeness not to be confused with V. labradorica)
An Up North specialty while doing fieldwork this week - Pogonatum! Pretty sure it’s P. urnigerum with the “marginal cells of lamellae rounded” per FNA. Not a frequent find in Michigan!
May 8, 2026 at 3:31 PM
An Up North specialty while doing fieldwork this week - Pogonatum! Pretty sure it’s P. urnigerum with the “marginal cells of lamellae rounded” per FNA. Not a frequent find in Michigan!
Calypogeia sphagnicola, found snuggled in deep in some Sphagnum fuscum hummocks!
April 22, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Calypogeia sphagnicola, found snuggled in deep in some Sphagnum fuscum hummocks!
Bought a used Olympus BH2 from a guy down the road for a hundred bucks and it’s in amazing shape! I guess the spirit of Howard Crum wanted me to have a great upcoming field season!
March 11, 2026 at 11:15 PM
Bought a used Olympus BH2 from a guy down the road for a hundred bucks and it’s in amazing shape! I guess the spirit of Howard Crum wanted me to have a great upcoming field season!
Otters in the snow!
December 10, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Otters in the snow!
Was looking at some stuff about Sphagnum expert Kjell Ivar Flatberg and saw something extraordinary. The patterns on his hat looked…familiar, they’re Sphagnum leaf cells!
November 5, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Was looking at some stuff about Sphagnum expert Kjell Ivar Flatberg and saw something extraordinary. The patterns on his hat looked…familiar, they’re Sphagnum leaf cells!
Fuscocephaloziopsis that I found after dropping my phone in the bog. Phones seem to really like finding wet hollows on the bog mat, mine is a magnet for Odontoschisma fluitans, Blepharostoma trichophyllum, and Fuscocephaloziopsis.
October 13, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Fuscocephaloziopsis that I found after dropping my phone in the bog. Phones seem to really like finding wet hollows on the bog mat, mine is a magnet for Odontoschisma fluitans, Blepharostoma trichophyllum, and Fuscocephaloziopsis.
I took a trip last week to attend a Sphagnum workshop hosted by the Botanical Club of Wisconsin. It was fantastic to learn from Dr. Jon Shaw and we had tons of fun! Our group saw 16 of the 27 species known to occur in the state, not too shabby!
September 4, 2025 at 11:44 AM
I took a trip last week to attend a Sphagnum workshop hosted by the Botanical Club of Wisconsin. It was fantastic to learn from Dr. Jon Shaw and we had tons of fun! Our group saw 16 of the 27 species known to occur in the state, not too shabby!
Malaxis unifolia from a great big gigantic conifer swamp that I seem to get lost in every time
July 18, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Malaxis unifolia from a great big gigantic conifer swamp that I seem to get lost in every time
I made a hen Spruce Grouse very upset today and she tried to fight me, I got away with my life but not my dignity
July 17, 2025 at 12:15 AM
I made a hen Spruce Grouse very upset today and she tried to fight me, I got away with my life but not my dignity
A quiet, serene video of a raccoon drinking from a local lake and nothing wild happens
July 3, 2025 at 1:26 AM
A quiet, serene video of a raccoon drinking from a local lake and nothing wild happens
Someone in public recognized me today from my iNat profile and it reminded me of an old tweet of mine. I never realized that posting plant pictures could gain someone a bit of local notoriety?
July 3, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Someone in public recognized me today from my iNat profile and it reminded me of an old tweet of mine. I never realized that posting plant pictures could gain someone a bit of local notoriety?
Soil Ruby Lichen (Heppia adglutinata), new to Michigan! Some folks I know have found it in Ontario, CA and some nearby Midwest states but somehow I couldn’t find any documentation of it in the Mitten. Figured I may as well look on the high quality alvars of Drummond Island and there it was! Welcome!
June 16, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Soil Ruby Lichen (Heppia adglutinata), new to Michigan! Some folks I know have found it in Ontario, CA and some nearby Midwest states but somehow I couldn’t find any documentation of it in the Mitten. Figured I may as well look on the high quality alvars of Drummond Island and there it was! Welcome!
After 3 years of searching on and off for Menegazzia terebrata in Michigan, I finally found some!! Well worth the wait and the 8 mile trek through one of the thicker conifer swamps I’ve ever been in!
June 16, 2025 at 12:13 AM
After 3 years of searching on and off for Menegazzia terebrata in Michigan, I finally found some!! Well worth the wait and the 8 mile trek through one of the thicker conifer swamps I’ve ever been in!
It’s about that time, ain’t it
May 16, 2025 at 11:41 PM
It’s about that time, ain’t it
It’s been a good spring for lichens so far. This Heterodermia (maybe H. specioca?) is not uncommon around my area but always seems to pop up unexpectedly.
April 17, 2025 at 11:08 AM
It’s been a good spring for lichens so far. This Heterodermia (maybe H. specioca?) is not uncommon around my area but always seems to pop up unexpectedly.
Who’s gonna help me find the (likely extinct) Petoskey Pondsnail this summer? F. Bryant Walker collected 13 snail shells in 1908, wrote a vague label, found them to be a new species, and I don’t know if anyone ever really followed up much.
February 19, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Who’s gonna help me find the (likely extinct) Petoskey Pondsnail this summer? F. Bryant Walker collected 13 snail shells in 1908, wrote a vague label, found them to be a new species, and I don’t know if anyone ever really followed up much.
Who’s got two thumbs and a sick ass shirt?
February 13, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Who’s got two thumbs and a sick ass shirt?
Pin lichen from the inner wood of a dead Ash in a swamp. I figure this is likely Mycocalicium subtile but haven’t checked the key because I’m a lazy bum.
February 5, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Pin lichen from the inner wood of a dead Ash in a swamp. I figure this is likely Mycocalicium subtile but haven’t checked the key because I’m a lazy bum.
There’s a pin lichen that’s been bothering me for a while, shows up on old growth Red Pine. Easy to spot because the white thallus appears on the margins of the bark plates, making them look wreathed in white. Probably just Mycocalicium subtile but that’d be boring.
February 5, 2025 at 11:44 PM
There’s a pin lichen that’s been bothering me for a while, shows up on old growth Red Pine. Easy to spot because the white thallus appears on the margins of the bark plates, making them look wreathed in white. Probably just Mycocalicium subtile but that’d be boring.