Fungi, lichens & slime moulds — the taxonomy nobody asked me about

A lichen is not a plant. It is a farm: a fungus cultivating algae, so successful the partnership has a name of its own. There are ones on my local wall older than the village. This thread is for fungi, lichens, slime moulds, and any other kingdom-blurring weirdness.

Field notebook count: 61 species within one kilometre of my door. The hobby costs nothing, works in all weather, and the subjects never fly away. Highly recommended for the patient and the damp.

"The subjects never fly away" — the anti-birding! Between your wall and my reservoir we've got surveillance on most of the visible biosphere. What's the beginner move, a hand lens?

A ×10 hand lens, yes — under £10 and it upgrades every walk you'll ever take. Look at ordinary wall lichen through one and you'll understand immediately. Fair warning: there is no way back.