Euopsis granatina
Lesser rockbud lichen, ground beef lichen
This arctic-alpine lichen grows on acidic rock in moist, sunny microhabitats, often mixed with or overgrowing Rhizocarpon lichens. It has a . . . huh, I don't really know how to describe the thallus form. Kinda scaley? Kinda plate-like? It generally falls into the "crustose" category, but it is like, bigger and thicker and rounder and clearly has its own unique shape thing going on. And that's not all! It has 2 different photobionts (Trebouxia green algae and Gloeocapsa cyanobacteria) but unlike most tripartite lichens which have a dominant green algal photobiont and cyanobacteria stored in smaller thallus subsections, E. granatina's thallus is mostly cyanobacterial, with small green algal subsections. Weeeird. The upper surface is a mottled red-brown, appearing gelatinous and almost fleshy when moist. It produces shiny red-brown apothecia (described as "recalling small garnets"). Just some globs of browned ground beef studded with garnets. Lichens are wild, man.
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