I was hiking in Oregon, when I located a light green foliose lichen with many small red balls on it. The balls appear to be fungal in nature and I was wondering if anyone could help me identify them.
Likely apothecia, or the fruiting bodies of the lichen that produce (fungal) spores. See this Botany Photo of the Day entry: Peltigera membranacea Might be possible to ID the lichen, though - size of lichen and what it was growing on would be helpful.
yeah, I read macrolichens of the northwest and had my mistake epiphany. Does anyone know if this is Loberia linata? The lichen in my picture has much more serated edges than the lichen in my book
Where in Oregon? If coastal, can rule out Lobaria linita (except at extreme NW corner of the state). I'm looking at Lichens of North America, and there is definitely a lot of variation in Lobaria species (two photos of L. linita - one light bluey-green and fairly well-lobed, another orangey-green with large smooth lobes)
I should also add that the thallus of this one is looking pretty beat up - you can see small bits of it on the nearby leaf litter. I'm not familiar enough with them to know whether this might be typical of something that's been on the ground for a while.
it was found about 100 miles off of the coast in Southern Oregon, on a trail.. so it is definitely beat up, but it didn't appear to be from walking on it.. Heavy rain prevents heavy traffic on this trail this time of year.
Hmmm.. doubtful that it is Lobaria linata then - distribution is north and central Oregon. That only leaves two options, Lobaria oregana and Lobaria pulmonaria. My inclination is toward L. oregana, because some sites describe its lobe margins as "frilly". I don't know the other best means to tell them apart visually as The Lichens of North America doesn't have L. oregana in its keys.
Daniel, it appears from the maps in Lichens of NA that L. linita occurs farther inland that L. oregana, if we can go on the maps. Also, he doesn't mention apothecia with L. oregana, but says L. linita can have abundant apothecia... Nice photo! Also note strands of the fruticose Usnea mixed in with the Lobaria.
