Observations by herzomeg

I couldn't find what the common name for this moss is. I discovered it while venturing to Ravenna with Cindy Luskus who helped me identify a number of small things, included mosses and lichens. This moss is similar to the Hypnum mosses and have small tiny scaled protrusions, like unicorn horns, that are mainly opposite and twist around the structure.

My favorite foliose lichen! Commonly known as a felt lichen, this species coats the erratic at Ravenna Park and has a veiny backside that holds it to the wall of the rock. Its surface changes with the weather (absorbs and holds water from rain, dries up easily, etc.) and curls up on the edges.

A small, spindly, fruticose lichen. This can also be found at Ravenna Park, found in small clusters on the branches of trees, and oftentimes (more likely), fallen from trees, resting on the ground beneath you. It has a rubber-like core that stretches when you pull a piece off of it.

This is a foliose lichen that can be found on tree branches and the bark of Grand Fir trees. It's edges curl up and it has an off-white, pale-green, almost egg shell and sickly color. Up close, it looks to be from a horror movie, eating and consuming everything it touches.

One of the most common lichens found at Ravenna Park, this species is of the fruticose sort, branching like deer antlers and looking almost like an edible vegetable. It's valued for its fixative base structure, used in the manufacturing of perfumes. Similar in color to the shield lichen, it also has warty gray reproductive bodies that sit on the upper surface.

Looking like an old and tattered rag, this lichen also finds a home in the temperate forest. It has bumpy, uneven ridges and looks to be closer to a foliose type of lichen than fruticose (but I am unsure). Any help IDing this one?

THE COOLEST OF THE LICHENS. This species, found on the Grand Fir, in proximity to the erratic along Ravenna Creek, appears at first to be a crustoce lichen, until the British Soldiers arrive. They get their name from the red hats that bloom on their tops, that resemble the uniforms worn by English soldiers during the Revolutionary War. This red hat, atop the thallus, is the fruiting agent that produces spores.

Almost invisible to the naked eye, dust lichen requires a close-looking. Appearing almost mold-like on tree bark, this crustoce form of lichen is still part algae and part fungus. In the Lepraria family.

This fungus has a hard, woody texture and preys on the heart-strings of old, dying trees (oftentimes it is the cause of its eminent death). The name has spurred from a physical reaction, as it becomes a drawing medium for artists when the surface is scratched with a sharp implement, changing from light to dark brown.

A mushroom! Finally! This species has gills that are nearly free from the stem, appearing a white-ish grayed color. The stem is silky smooth and hollow. They are edible and most appetizing when young.