It’s interesting that the main source of color in the natural landscape right now are fungus and lichens. I don’t normally think of them as being colorful, but in the middle of winter, they do stand out.

This orange mushroom is tiny. It’s only about 1/2 inch in diameter. It, and several others were growing along a fallen tree. Despite their small size, they jumped out at me with their bright orange color.

While it’s overall texture is smooth, it has many folds and is quite convoluted. While I don’t know for sure, in my mind, it’s very poisonous. That’s why it’s bright orange in color. Better safe than sorry.

Wood Fungus

I’m not sure what kind of lichen this one is. It’s got a pretty gray/green color and consists of many small branches. This one is a little larger, maybe 2 inches long, and it growing on the branches of a live tree.

Gray Green Lichen

This is a fruticose lichen and I’ve written about it before. Fruticose means branching, so that means the gray/green lichen is fruticose too. I wonder if they’re actually the same species. They were growing together. Maybe they’re just different phases of the same lichen.

Fruticose Lichen