Lichen or fungi ?

[Gerel]

As the title suggests, I'm not sure if this should be here or in the lichen forum . I found these growing on wet rotten oak, they look like the reproductive stage of a cladonia type lichen but seem to be growing directly from the wood like a fungus, without any obvious lichen to have given rise to them. Could the "leafy" part of a lichen have decayed leaving these behind? They are in situ as found except for the largest one which I moved to photograph. The largest is ~15mm tall.

Steve

[Chris Yeates]

hi

certainly the 'podetia' of a Cladonia close to C. fimbriata; I suspect that the wood they were on has been disturbed and damp/freezing has destroyed the thallus while the more resistant fruiting 'trumpets' have survived a little longer . . .

Chris

[Gerel]

Thanks for that Chris,

One of those cases of being thrown by something familiar out of it's usual context. Excellent deductive work by the way, this was on an old gate which had collapsed into a pile of planks whith the lichen trapped in the middle of the pile.

Steve

[gleditsa]

Originally Posted by Gerel

Thanks for that Chris,

One of those cases of being thrown by something familiar out of it's usual context. Excellent deductive work by the way, this was on an old gate which had collapsed into a pile of planks whith the lichen trapped in the middle of the pile.

Steve

Hi Gerel, Chris is spot on with his id, its certainly a Cladonia sp , but with my limited(very) knowledge of lichens i would not like to say which one,
have a look in the lichen sub-forum, there are some very good pics there, some very much like your own find,

careful though!! you may get hooked i did

[Gerel]

Originally Posted by gleditsa

careful though!! you may get hooked i did

I'm ashamed to admit that I'm, more or less deliberately, ignoring lichens at the moment. Living in the hills of mid-Wales with fairly clean, unpolluted air there is a huge variety around and I'm afraid it could become (yet another) obsession. I could spend weeks just photographing and (attempting) identifying the ones growing on the trees and out buildings around the house.

I do find them intriguing though, where's the camera.....

Steve

[gleditsa]

Originally Posted by Gerel

I'm ashamed to admit that I'm, more or less deliberately, ignoring lichens at the moment. Living in the hills of mid-Wales with fairly clean, unpolluted air there is a huge variety around and I'm afraid it could become (yet another) obsession. I could spend weeks just photographing and (attempting) identifying the ones growing on the trees and out buildings around the house.

I do find them intriguing though, where's the camera.....

Steve

mmm---- looks like the warning came to late

[JennyS]

They're an addictive subject!

I tried telling myself not to look at them anymore but no chance, they're impossible to ignore now I've started noticing them .... Folders full of un-IDed, maybe-IDed and the occasional 'yes, thats got to be it' photos and no hope of stopping even when its flower-season again!

Hey Gerel some more lichen photos from Wales would be interesting to see

[gleditsa]

Originally Posted by JennyS

They're an addictive subject!

I tried telling myself not to look at them anymore but no chance, they're impossible to ignore now I've started noticing them .... Folders full of un-IDed, maybe-IDed and the occasional 'yes, thats got to be it' photos and no hope of stopping even when its flower-season again!

Hey Gerel some more lichen photos from Wales would be interesting to see

it was your cracking photos of Baeomyces rufus that got me hooked, Jenny
coupled with poschiavanus's knowledge and help with id's

and now Lichen even has its own forum, even if it's only a sub-forum

[JennyS]

Theres nothing like sharing obsession!