Answer: Tree lichen

What you're looking at

Tree lichen is a common sight on tree bark, rocks, and wood throughout forests and gardens worldwide. You've probably walked past thousands of these crusty or leafy growths without really noticing them, yet they're thriving ecosystems that play a vital role in nature.

When zoomed in extremely close, tree lichen becomes almost unrecognizable, revealing intricate patterns, bumpy textures, and tiny fruiting bodies that look like alien structures. The mixed composition of fungal threads and algal cells creates a complex surface that looks nothing like what you'd expect from something so familiar, making it genuinely tricky to identify when blown up this large.

Search for small bumps, ridges, and irregular patterns that suggest a layered, crusty or leafy surface structure.

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