Sample of soil and moss taken from dry pool on exposed sandstone hilltop and kept at room temperature for several weeks. Water added and kept at room temperature. Sampled over next few weeks by dropper and examined microscopically
160x, seawater. It had four black "eyes"
Below the lemon tree
These appeared in the microscopy of the lichen I was looking at — my previous observation, Platismata tuckermanii — but I have not ever seen something like this before and did not see it mentioned in the Brodo lichen book. It really did look “a part of” the lichen but maybe it is something deposited in/on the lichen, eggs? Not sure. Central sphere seems to have many smaller spheres in them. They are large.
What are they?