November hikes were across grassland benches, grassland hills, open forest slopes, and in montane forest areas.    Wildflowers were long gone, with a few dried stalks still visible.    Some perennial shrubs and forbs retained some color, but soon will be buried in the snow.    Shoulder season is a good time to spot and photograph mosses and lichens.

Some of the mosses spotted include rough gooseneck moss (Hylocomiadelphus triquetrus), forkmoss (Dicranum sp.), Wallace’s spikemoss (Selaginella wallacei), and star moss (Syntrichia ruralis).   Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.

rough gooseneck moss

moss

forkmoss

Crustose lichens can be spotted on rocks and on some fallen trees.    Some shrub lichens can be seen on wet ground and on trees.    Hair lichens can mostly be spotted on trees.     Leaf lichens are most often spotted on wet ground in sheltered locations.    Spotted, photographed and shared here are varied rag lichen (Peltigera aphtosa), wolf lichen (Letharia vulpina), witch’s beard (Alectoria sarmentosa), cladonia (Cladonia sp.), red fruited cladonia, and crinkled snow lichen (Flavocetraria nivalis).

varied rag lichen

wolf lichen

witches hair lichen

witches hair lichen

cladonia

red fruited cladonia

crinkled snow lichen

cladonia

Identifications are somewhat tentative since I am in the process of learning – spotting specimens, photographing them, identifying each, and then researching, all a slow process.    Please feel free to comment.