#baeomyces

[wild-e-eep]

I think this is Baeomyces rufus - the brown beret lichen, but looking more like pink brains here.

Regular brown berets for comparison:

iNaturalist observation 259183884

[lichenaday]

Baeomyces heteromorphus

I know that, superficially, the fruiting bodies of B. heteromorphus look like tiny mushrooms, but they aren't really. What we typically call "mushrooms" are the fruiting bodies of basidiomycete fungi, while the majority of lichens are ascomycete fungi. The big difference comes down to the spore-producing structures (which are generally not visible to the naked eye)--the basidiomycetes produce spores externally (stalk-like structures called basidia), whereas ascomycetes produce spores internally (sac-like structures called asci). Are these definitions ever gonna be helpful to you? Probably not. But IDK, maybe you come across one of these little guys on a hike some time and someone is like "oooo look at the tiny mushrooms!" and then you can be like "um actually . . . " and won't that be fun? Hmm, maybe this is why I don't have many friends . . .

images: source

[thebashfulbotanist]

Not 100% sure, but I’d guess that this strange lichen growing near Zamora, Ecuador, is a type of Baeomyces based on the translucent look of the pink apothecia when wet. The pink, rather than brown, apothecia are more reminiscent of Dibaeis, however.

[wild-e-eep]

Lichen bothering in Glenan Community Woodland again. Nice wall.

(Baeomyces rufus get)

[wild-e-eep]

A blue damselfly being photo-bombed by a tiny patch of Baeomyces rufus (lichen, bottom right)

I don't have an ID for the damselfly.

[wild-e-eep]

I think this is brown beret lichen - Baeomyces rufus. The green crust is the main body of the lichen (growing on a stone) and the translucent, jelly-like, mushroom-shaped things are its spore bearing structures.