Showing Their Form

The mist lingered for longer than forecast today, and was due to return by mid-afternoon, so we went for a walk in the forest to the south of Brandon Country Park again, catching the brief window of weak sunshine. I didn't stop to take many photos as I also had to be back for an online meeting mid-afternoon. The main is a batch of "reindeer lichen" - some form of Cladonia - on Brandon Heath, a fenced-off area within the forest which has is being managed as traditional open Breckland heathland. The extra is an even quicker record shot of another Cladonia species (I think!) on the edge of one of the rides. The reindeer lichen always shows itself well when the heathers & grasses are dormant over the winter; the cup-shaped lichen has probably always been present in the forest and on the heath, but is benefitting - and becoming noticeable to casual observers walking past - from having some of the wider ride edges mown to remove some of the more dominant vegetation.