Old man's beard lichen

Description:

This is a fruiticose lichen. There are many species of Usnea in Virginia. The ones that have a stringy appearance and grow on tree trunks are called old man's beard.

Notes:

1. In addition to Usnea, you can see some sort of crustose lichen on the bark. 2. Lichens are not an individual organism. They are a mutualism between a fungus and a photosynthetic microbe, either an alga or a photosynthetic bacterium. The genus-species names for lichens are assigned based on their fungal component. As such, I'm not sure whether it's better to put this in the fungus category or in the other category. Any guidance in this area is appreciated!