An unusual pin lichen has been found in Krustkalni Nature Reserve, the Latvian Mycological Society reports. TVNET and LETA published the account on 19 October 2026.
In the reserve in Madona Municipality, society representative Renāte Kaupuža found a new pin lichen of the genus Henotricha on a spruce violet bracket fungus. Its fruiting bodies look like tiny pins. Henotrichas are lichens closely tied to polypore fungi, and the genus was only recognised worldwide in 2023.
The society notes that the Krustkalni record is not the first find of this genus in Latvia. It is further evidence of these easily overlooked organisms in forests.
The Latvian Mycological Society was founded in 2002. It brings together mycologists, lichenologists, slime-mould researchers and nature enthusiasts, and supports the study of fungi, lichens and slime moulds, public education and the conservation of biodiversity.