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Lichens and other fungi come in a variety of colours, which may change if you apply a drop of a suitable chemical. Are such reactions useful for identification or for taxonomic purposes? Have you ever wondered how useful household bleach, ammonia or vanillin are in the study of lichens or of fungi in general? These are some of the subjects being talking about.
Heino Lepp is a Scientific Associate of the Australian National Herbarium, curating the Fungi Collection and undertaking associated research projects. He also assists with public identifications of fungi.
Heino has produced several websites on cryptogams with financial assistance from the Friends of ANBG:
www.anbg.gov.au/lichen/
www.anbg.gov.au/fungi/
www.anbg.gov.au/bryophyte/