Cladonia peziziformis
Cladonia peziziformis photo by Bob Klips
DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES: Very short squamules; twisted and contorted podetia; turbanlike pale brown apothecia; P+ red; compare with C. sobolescens with apothecia scarcely spilling over tip, K-.
ECOLOGY: A common species in the eastern US; widespread in Oho, one of the commonest of the brown-fruited Cladonia spp., a frequent “old field” species; on soil, occasionally on bark or over rock.