Dibbinsdale Lichen

[black]

Here's a bunch of photographs of Lichen from Dibbinsdale LNR on The Wirral. If Alan S or anyone else could assist in ID I'd be grateful.
Thanks

[Deer Stalker]

The first one looks like Flavoparmelia caperata.
No.2 could be Hypogymnia physodes or tubulosa

[Tiggrx]

I photographed the 3rd/4th one a couple of weeks ago - have leafed through several books but it is eluding me - hope someone knows what it is

[AlanS]

Number 1 is difficult as we really need to have a sharper view of the surface features. As I said in another post, lichen photography is not easy, with the slightest camera movement enough enough to obscure critical details.
Deer Stalker's suggestion of Flavoparmelia caperata is certainly possible. It doesn't look quite right, colour looks a bit wrong, but the species is horribly variable.

Number 2 is Physcia tenella. The characteristic marginal cilia are visible in the photograph and the thallus tips are upturned and sorediate (producing asexual reproductive granules).
P. tenella is a species that has become much more common in recent years as a result of nitrogen deposition, primarily from vehicle exhausts. In my own area it now dominates many urban tree trunks.

I am still learning (slowly) my crustose genera and tend to duck white patches on rocks. However, from the large, convex apothecia, I think number 3/4 is a Porpidia species and from the very thin, greyish thallus, I would suggest P. macrocarpa as a hypothesis. The black prothallus possessed by this species is just visible in the left of the photograph.
Porpidia species are difficult though, and I may be wrong about the genus anyway.

Alan Silverside

[black]

Many thanks for your help Deer Stalker and Alan S. I'm pretty sure I do have another close up of the first photo so I'll dig that out tonight and post it. It was a pretty dull and overcast day in Dibbinsdale when I took these so the sharpness isn't spot on to say the least. It's amazing that even when something is stationary I can still bodge up!
The 3rd/4th was actually growing on the side of a smooth barked tree trunk.

Cheers again

[AlanS]

Originally Posted by AlanS

I am still learning (slowly) my crustose genera and tend to duck white patches on rocks. However, from the large, convex apothecia, I think number 3/4 is a Porpidia species and from the very thin, greyish thallus, I would suggest P. macrocarpa as a hypothesis. The black prothallus possessed by this species is just visible in the left of the photograph.
Porpidia species are difficult though, and I may be wrong about the genus anyway.

Alan Silverside

I should have included Porpidia crustulata as another strong possibility.

Alan

[black]

Hi, below is the close-up of the lichen in the first photo of my previous Diddinsdale Lichen posting. Hopefully this may assist in the ID.

[AlanS]

Aha! This nails it.

Punctelia subrudecta (formerly Parmelia subrudecta). I toyed with the idea before, but decided it wasn't, but now we see those well defined soralia ('spots') on the thallus surface, plus pseudocyphellae (little white lines), it is well characterised.

Widespread species, but a problematic one, as a lot of British records are proving to be another member of the group, P. ulophylla, including probably most or all past records on a reserve (Wicken Fen) I am recorder for.

Having NOT been finding it myself, it is a pleasure to see a good photograph of the true species.

Alan

[black]

Thanks Alan for the ID and taking the time to explain the identification features. Its a great help for us non-experts especially when not being familiar with certain terminology. Dibbinsdale is a really damp wood teeming with lichen I'll definitely have to return to take some more pics.