A lichen - Baeomyces rufus - geograph.org.uk - 1051534

Description:

Summary[edit] Description: English: A lichen - Baeomyces rufus. Several patches of this lichen were growing on peaty soil at the side of a footpath; it appeared to be colonizing places where soil had fallen away fairly recently (within the last year or so), exposing some fresh but steep surfaces. As can be seen here, the lichen consists of a greenish crust, with little brownish fruiting bodies; these were each about a millimetres across, and they had fairly short stalks, so that they were almost resting on the crust (in this species, the extent to which the fruiting bodies are stalked can vary a great deal). [A species that is quite similar to this one, and with which it might be confused, is Dibaeis baeomyces (syn. Baeomyces roseus).] This lichen probably serves a useful purpose in helping to hold together soil surfaces which would otherwise be quickly washed away. For an example of this species growing on rock, and showing better-developed stalks, see: 1092674. Date: 18 November 2008. Source: From geograph.org.uk. Author: Lairich Rig. Attribution(required by the license)Lairich Rig / A lichen - Baeomyces rufus / CC BY-SA 2.0. Lairich Rig / A lichen - Baeomyces rufus. Camera location55° 58′ 25.1″ N, 4° 36′ 24″ W View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 55.973640; -4.606600. Object location55° 58′ 25.1″ N, 4° 36′ 24″ W View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 55.973640; -4.606600.