Day 101: Although not as small as some lichens, the fruiting bodies of Baeomyces rufus (Brown Beret) are still tiny things, as this Penny Perspective demonstrates. The white stalks (podetia) and their tan caps (spore-producing apothecia) are only part of the lichen. The thallus (main body) is the pale green crust from which they arise. This species can be found growing on rock in shady locations. A similar species (Dibaes baeomyces) has a white thallus, and grows on soil.
When I set off on the Bud Blancher Trail a few days ago, my goal was a particular tree by the river which I knew to hold Graphis scripta, but as Crow plans are wont to do, this one began developing new legs almost as soon as my foot struck the ground. "Baeomyces!" I said to myself, thinking of potential material for a natural-history post, but I didn't think the "sucker hole" overhead was wide enough to allow me to reach the far end of the trail where I knew the species occurred. Then I remembered the second location, somewhat closer. When I got there, I was dismayed to find that the Baeomyces rock had been entirely overgrown with English Ivy in the space of a year. It took a bit of searching, but I finally found this last outpost of Brown Berets under a tangle of blackberry vines.
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