Some lichen help needed

[JennyS]

I've just started looking at all the different lichens (due to the lack of flowering plants) and needless to say I'm pretty much clueless!
Help would be really appreciated with the following, all photographed on rocks in a heathy field (approx 200m) in SW Ireland.......

Q: Cladonia 1 (or might it be Stereocaulon vesuvianum?)


Q: Cladonia 2


Q: Cladonia 3 (could it be Cladonia scabriuscula?)


Q: Cladonia 4 (might it be Cladonia subservicornis?)

[poschiavanus]

Heathland Cladonia are not the easiest group of lichens, so take my pennyworth with a pinch of salt.

I tend to favour Stereocaulon over Cladonia for the first. A cross-section would reveal whether the (pseudo)podetia are hollow or not.

The other 3 are certainly Cladonia. My first guesses would be C. crispata for (2), C. furcata for (3) and would tend to agree with C. subcervicornis for (4). BUT am not particularly happy with (3), as the podetia have no signs of peeling squamules and distribution does not look good. In heathland there ought to be plenty of C. portentosa, a species which is usually more branched than shown in your photos.

Photos are splendid, but you'll probably have to think about collecting specimens at some stage. At least then you will be able to tie them back to photos.

posch

[JennyS]

Thanks poschiavanus, your pennyworth is appreciated with or without salt!
I've posted a photo of (hopefully) C. portentosa - there was more of (3) growing nearby which seemed very sparse and straggly-looking by comparison to it ......

Q: Cladonia portentosa?


Q: Pseudevernia furfuracea?


What is the best way to store lichen specimens as I will have to get into the habit of gathering bits for proper IDs?

[poschiavanus]

Yes I'd go with C. portentosa, and it does highlight that (3) is something else!

I don't think the second image is Pseudoevernia. The thallus looks took branched, short and wrong colour. Mature specimens are blackish on the underside of the thallus. Alan Silverside has a good example on his website. Can't think what else to suggest for now.

[JennyS]

Thanks poschaivanus - could Bunodophoron melanocarpum be a possibility for the not-Pseudoevernia?

[poschiavanus]

Bunodophoron melanocarpum: not a lichen I'm familiar with at all.

It does look possible, but it's pretty thinly recorded in SW Ireland. Only 1 10km square since 2000 (on the Dingle Peninsula), according to Lichen Ireland. From its distribution this is a very oceanic species.

[JennyS]

Hi posch, Dobson's map in 'Lichens' shows a couple more SW Ireland sites for Bunodophoron melanocarpum, and its distribution doesn't appear solely coastal. It was growing among moss on a sheltered acidic rock.
Will have to go and get a sample.......

I think part of the difficulty in getting accurate Irish distribution details can be 1. lack of recorders and 2. records are often not submitted to the various recording schemes which permit public access.
( Would love to be wrong, but its definitely the case with plant recording here...)

[poschiavanus]

I've noticed I didn't say anything about storing lichens. This is one of the best things about them. They can be collected stored away and examined when one has more time or experience. Obviously given that some are very slow growing collection should only be done with care.

Most lichens can be collected into small paper envelopes (I use little brown pay envelopes with the gummed label cut off), or in folded paper (the botanical 'packet'). I've also seen someone use the little packets used by stamp collectors, which are pretty neat as one can see the specimen. Once home, they need to be dried out: in the airing cupboard (sorry hot press) or over a radiator. They can then be stored.

Storage might be an issue if mites, moths or beetles get at them. If you're fussy once dried they can be sealed in zip-lock sandwich bags or similar and frozen to kill any nasties.

I think most of these procedures are very similar to those used for macro-fungi and bryophytes. Generally, simply wetting the specimen will enable most characters to be examined. Colours do tend to fade in the herbarium, but the sort of things one mainly wants to look at are structural features.

Microscopy is important, just as for other fungi. A lot of final diagnosis will depend on spore shape and size, and structure of the hymenium. A low-power microscope is very useful for deciding issues such as whether a lichen is sorediate or isidiate.

Collecting lichens on rocks requires a certain deft skill with a cold chisel, so I restrict myself to those growing in moss, on bark and on twigs. Its really good to collect twigs after a windy period: the lichens on them won't survive, and many of them are growing up in the canopy, so otherwise wouldn't be visible.

posch