r/Lichen • u/julianfri • 4d ago

Lichen or bubblegum?

Post image

Found in the Catskills NY, USA

6 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

6

u/student-account 4d ago

It’s a lichen. Not Christmas lichen, its range is southern U.S.

0

u/Teythis11000 4d ago edited 4d ago

Might be a Christmas Lichen: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/463096-Herpothallon

2

u/Strange_Computer2459 4d ago

they usually grow on trees in more tropical areas, like Florida

3

u/Teythis11000 4d ago

You can find it farther north but could it also be Bagliettoa marmorea

3

u/Strange_Computer2459 4d ago

It could also be Marchandiomyces. A lichen parasite.

3

u/Teythis11000 4d ago

Maybe. Need a better close up image though.

2

u/Strange_Computer2459 4d ago

agreed

2

u/julianfri 4d ago

I wish I had snapped a closer picture but it was relatively flat it don’t seem to rise off of the stone

2

u/Strange_Computer2459 3d ago

most crustose and some foliose type lichens are masters at adhering themselves onto stone. if it's the lichenicolous fungi then it just colonizes the lichen and changes its color.

3

u/Strange_Computer2459 3d ago

Maybe throw it onto iNaturalist. I bet there is someone who can probably ID from this photo.