המועדפים של bradenjudson

Inspired by your observation, @rambryum, and the fact I've always wondered what the small, non-Cameraria gaultheriella marks are on salal leaves. I pulled these leaves while speaking on the phone with @dbltucker and then @johndreynolds. A good thing to keep an eye out for!

Growing densely associated with and underneath a filamentous cyanobacterial (Scytonema/Stigonema) colony on exfoliating limestone dust flakes on a limestone rock face. It has transparent rhizohyphae at the attachment points at the base of the thalli, and globose hormocystangia at the lobe tips (second photo). These are so transparent that the photo of the Nostoc attached to the observation was taken looking through the outside membrane of one of them, unsquashed and unsectioned.

No apothecia are present. Thalli are extremely small, rounded in section (at least near branch tips), and only about 0.2 mm wide. Photobiont is Nostoc, suggesting Lempholemma.

This is closely related to another observation, see here for the photos of the cyanobacterial community flakes itself (that this lichen was growing within/underneath): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/36981694

The ruler in the first photo is graduated in mm.

Pretty extensive, usually pure fruiting patches or with other ruderal bryos. Mature bright red tubers are 160-200um, but many were presumably immature and around 100-130um. Smooth, sometimes reddish rhizoids.

Apothecia turning a brilliant deep purple in KOH, spores polarilocular, 17.7 x 8.8 micrometres. Septum up to 3.5 micrometres. Growing on moss in sheltered, humid site on ledges of limestone rock. Apothecia 0.5-1.2 mm.