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Brad Von Blon

@bobcatbrad.bsky.social
259 followers 82 following 68 posts

I like to go outside. Tend to look at bryophytes & lichens in northern Michigan. www.instagram.com/bradvonblon/profi…

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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
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!
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
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.
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
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!
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
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)
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
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!
A starry-shaped blue/green moss growing on sand. The leaves are succulent, waxy in texture.A starry-shaped blue/green moss growing on sand. The leaves are succulent, waxy in texture.A microscope cross section of the moss leaf showing lamellae with rounded, papillose ends.A microscope photo of the tooth on one moss leaf.
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Calypogeia sphagnicola, found snuggled in deep in some Sphagnum fuscum hummocks!
A small green liverwort growing in spaces between brown Sphagnum Calypogeia sphagnicola under the microscope, entire plant with dorsal leaf surfaces. More dorsal leaf surfaces of Calypogeia sphagnicolaUnderleaves of Calypogeia sphagnicola.
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
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!
An Olympus BH2 microscope securely bucked in my passenger seat.
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Otters in the snow!
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
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!
Kjell Ivar Flatberg, a very kind looking older man, holds out a small clump of Sphagnum moss while wearing a very, very cool knit hat.Flatberg inspects moss with a hand lens, showing off the patterns on his hat. They are made to look like leaf cells of Sphagnum including large hyaline cells with pores and chlorophyllose cells between.Microscope photo of the branch leaf of Sphagnum girgensohnii, the pattern is similar to the knit hat.Multiple Sphagnum branch leafs featuring the same patterns.
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
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.
Microscope photo of Fuscocephaloziopsis, a very small liverwort with its buddy Blepharostoma, an even smaller liverwort, next to it.Microscope photo of the leaves of Fuscocephaloziopsis. They have “two acute to acuminate lobes separated by a rounded apical notch” which makes em look like a wonky pac-man or a funky claw or maybe even a weird dinosaurPerianth and stem of Fuscocephaloziopsis
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
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!
A group of 18 people in a wetland passing around Sphagnum moss specimens to inspect and compareA circle of attendees write notes and look for various species of Sphagnum with Dr. Shaw in the middleA group of seven people standing on a floating bog mat composed of SphagnumA classroom table with various specimens from our field trips arranged with labels identifying each species. A whole slew of microscopes are on the table as well.
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Malaxis unifolia from a great big gigantic conifer swamp that I seem to get lost in every time
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
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
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
A quiet, serene video of a raccoon drinking from a local lake and nothing wild happens
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
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?
A tweet that says “Not to brag but I have two ex-girlfriends who don’t keep in contact with me BUT still follow me on iNaturalist. Like ‘I don’t want this man in my life but I’ll be damned… he finds some really cool stuff’”
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
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!
A very small, olive green/brown lichen with burgundy red apothecia which are <2mm in diameter growing on soil/biocrust. A penny behind it for scale.A very small, olive green lichen with burgundy red apothecia which are <2mm in diameter growing on soil/biocrust.A very small, olive green lichen with burgundy red apothecia which are <2mm in diameter growing on soil/biocrust.A zoomed-out view of the lichen with my finger pointing to it for scale. It’s tiny! Teensy, even!
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
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!
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
It’s about that time, ain’t it
Flower of Calypso bulbosa. The photo is good but not like “professional” good, just okay.
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
Lol
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
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.
A white, fringed lichen growing in a small rosette on tree barkA white, fringed lichen growing in a small rosette on tree bark
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Otters are back!
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
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.
Digitized image of Walker’s collection label that reads “brook, Petoskey” next to 7 small snail shells
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Who’s got two thumbs and a sick ass shirt?
Brad (goofball) wearing a black shirt with white text that reads “SAFETY, DIGNITY & HEALTHCARE FOR ALL TRANS PEOPLE”
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
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.
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
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.
A lichen with a white thallus & little black pins about 1mm tall.A lichen with a white thallus & little black pins about 1mm tall.Bark of a Red Pine with distinct white coloration along the plates of bark, especially along a fissure.
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
Went to the local marina and got to watch an otter fishing for an hour or so
An otter swims in open water between two sheets of ice on Lake MichiganOtter on an ice float eating some species of Sucker (Catostomus sp.)Otter on an ice float eating some species of Sucker (Catostomus sp.)
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Finally got out to see some lichen today. I’m often wrong about this specific group but some features point towards Pertusaria rubefacta, that’d be a new one for me!
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
Figured out an easy hack for IDing mosses for other people. Works every time 😎
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 01/01/2025
Best find of 2024 was way back in June. Some friends and I likely found the first Michigan record of Syntrichia cainii on the beautiful alvars of Drummond Island! Felt great to add a new addition to the flora!
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 28/12/2024
I got a cool book in the mail!
The Lives of Lichens: A Natural History by Robert Lücking & Toby Spribille
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 26/12/2024
It always cracks me up to think of this illustrator (Montreuel?) being approached to draw pin lichens for a paper. “So they’re like… a bunch of squiggly little wiggly guys? Who are all hangin’ out together?” Yeah you pretty much nailed it.
Chaenotheca sp. (possibly C. ferruginea)Illustrations from The Lichen Genus Chaenotheca in the Northern Hemisphere by Leif TibellIllustrations from The Lichen Genus Chaenotheca in the Northern Hemisphere by Leif TibellIllustrations from The Lichen Genus Chaenotheca in the Northern Hemisphere by Leif Tibell
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
I’ve never had a bobcat climb up on a camera before! Pretty fun to hear the little sniffs!
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Her: He’s probably out talking to other girls. Me:
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
My work let me haul a roadkill deer into the woods to put a trail camera on it. Finally got some good videos of a bobcat who isn't very good at sharing.
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Cetraria (maybe C. arenaria?) under the scope. It’s neat to look at the little white lines on the underside (pseudocyphellae) but I like the cilia “eyelashes” more, even though I’m not sure what their function is.
A magnified top view of a brown, “antler”-shaped lichen.A magnified underside view of the same brown, “antler”-shaped lichen with white lines along the margins.
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Made this to put up in my little office. The Michigan Dune Dart (Copablepharon michiganensis) has been documented only four times ever and seems restricted to high-quality Great Lakes dunes. I probably won’t ever see this extreme rarity but maybe some day!
The X-Files “I Want To Believe” UFO poster edited so that a small yellow moth takes the spot of the flying saucer.
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
Best lichen find this year was back in April when I documented Dermatocarpon luridum in a small creek near Charlevoix, MI. This species had never been found in the lower peninsula of Michigan before and is nearly 100 miles away from the nearest known location!
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Lepidozia reptans! The bug people seem to turn their noses up at Leps cuz I guess moths are the big, charismatic “pretty boys” in their field? But I’ve never met a bryology nerd who isn’t excited to see this Lep. So tiny and always shows up in cool spots!
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Homalia trichomanoides, an easy favorite. I don’t see it particularly often in northern Michigan but apparently it’s fairly common for the European moss people that live in my phone
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Frullania asagrayana is easy to clock because it’s giant, juicy, and red. Not quite an indicator species for quality but it does tend to show up in the nicer cedar swamps around here. I always bump into it when I’m looking for F. selwyniana, which I still haven’t seen.
A red liverwort on cedar barkMicroscope photo of a Frullania leaf with a characteristic line of ocelliEdited movie poster of The Hunt for Red October edited to say Red Frullania because I like to goof off
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Reposted by Brad Von Blon
Rafael Medina @bryomedina.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Reposting the moss ID alignment chart from 2020 because why not
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
I’ve loved Carl Sagan since middle school and was delighted to find this handwritten graph online today, hadn’t ever seen it before! www.loc.gov/item/cosmos0...
“A hand drawn diagram from Carl Sagan representing all of space and time. The X axis represents time, going into the future and into the past and the Y axis represents scale, from the size of the electron to the distances between galaxies. It marks the relatively small ‘realm of direct human experience’ and the much larger "realm of quantum physics" and ‘realm of special relativity.’” -Library of Congress
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
I got followed by a lot of really cool professional academic type people and I need all of those beautiful folks to know that, while I do like to study, I’m also just some ecology technician that works for a local land trust and has been known to drink beer in public bathrooms.
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
I keep trying to dip into pin lichens and I really enjoy the hunt but sheesh, they’re tiny! My guess for this is Calicium trabinellum but I’d need to do some spore microscopy to confirm (and I don’t know how to do that)
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Mielichhoferia elongata (used to be M. mielichhoferiana) at its only known site in Michigan. Informally “rediscovered” after a 60 year absence by some pals and I in June 2023. All the old collection labels simply put the location as “Pictured Rocks” but we got lucky and found the right cliff!
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Splachnum ampullaceum in the lower peninsula of Michigan! This was my best find of 2024 and my first time ever seeing this species. It was worth the three years of following every deer trail in every bog I could visit!
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
I have to drive a couple hours north to the Upper Peninsula to see any Pogonatum (likely P. dentatum) but gosh it’s pretty
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
Not certain what the identity of this moss is (possibly Cratoneuron filicinum) but it’s nice to look at. Found in a cedar swamp in Emmet County, Michigan. I’m terrible at the little carpet mosses. No costa, no teeth, no alar regions!
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Aulacomnium palustre seems to pop up just about anywhere wet around my neck of the woods. Such a pleasant, fuzzy little guy
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Brad Von Blon @bobcatbrad.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
This is supposed to be Odontoschisma fluitans but I dunno the difference between Odontoschisma and Cephalozia
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