Lichen

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magpie@mander.xyz

Curious lichen with bright blue-green apothecia (infosec.pub)

submitted 1 week ago by magpie@mander.xyz to c/Lichen@mander.xyz

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I'm not great with crust lichens (or ID in general haha) so don't know where to start with this one. This lichen was found growing on a pressure treated wood fence post so my first impression was that the colour might be the result of copper accumulation from the treatment chemicals. Its also likely (maybe more likely?) that its just a species I haven't come across yet. I haven't really started the ID process and I may not get to it for some time but I'd love to hear other people's thoughts. I didn't have my KOH on me but this area is one I frequent so I will bring it next time and see if I can't get a sample for the microscope.

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[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

That looks like a cyanobacteria growing on top of a crust lichen. Sometimes it starts of as a dark green but turns orange if its in a very exposed area, as it will produce caretonoids to deal with extreme UV exposure. If I can track it down, I can pull out a guide later and try to get it into a more narrow range of candidate genus.

[–] magpie@mander.xyz 3 points 1 week ago

Thanks, that would be appreciated if you have the time. It would have been pretty frosty this morning and a pretty mild day for sun so these are probably well hydrated. I'll see if I can go grab a sample tomorrow after work.