#papillaria

[lionfloss]

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[lichenaday]

Pycnothelia papillaria

I have a really hard time with superlatives. I have a hard time deciding what is the “cutest” or the “best” or my “favorite.” But P. papillaria might very well be the recipient of all three of those titles. I mean, look at them!!! This little fruticose lichen has a crustose basal thallus made up of large, compact granules, and a secondary thallus of swollen, hollow podetia. The basal thallus is pale grayish-white granules, and the warty podetia are gray or tan, with darker brown apices. Apothecia are rare, appearing at the podetial tips as dark brownish-red globules. P. papillaria grows on acidic soil and peat in arctic-alpine regions. Some little lichen jellybeans out there thriving in the cold, harsh world. 

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