Xanthoria sp ??

[kiltoncomp]

Originally Posted by AlanS

I agree with Jenny that everything posted in this thread is Xanthoria parietina, but this thread well illustrates the difficulty at times of separating the two species.

Microscopically, X. parietina is said to have longer conidia (obtained by a squash of a pycnidium, an orange pimple in the thallus surface), 2.7-3.6 μm in X. parietina, 2.2-2.9 μm in X. polycarpa, but these figures are from an American source (Lindblom, 1997) and I don't know how well they apply to British/European material.

Alan

Thanks for that information Alan,
as Rob says, there does not seem to be any sources of information on how to (easily - for novices to understand) prepare samples of lichens and to understand what you are seeing under the scope,
being totally without any skills in the use of a microscope does not help either
a nice pictorial guide in simple terms would fit the bill nicely

Brian.

[JennyS]

Maybe try chemical reagents first as they can narrow down the identification possibilities - Frank Dobson's 'Lichens' gives details of which apply (or don't) to each species.

The link below is to the British Lichen Society's page giving more details on reagents:
The British Lichen Society - Chemicals for Lichen Identification
and there is also a thread by poschaivious about chemical reagents somewhere in the Lichen section.

But ...... as I've just discovered in the 'Cladonia' thread there is the risk that even thin bleach (C) can include additional chemicals that can make results misleading ........

[AlanS]

Originally Posted by kiltoncomp

Thanks for that information Alan,
as Rob says, there does not seem to be any sources of information on how to (easily - for novices to understand) prepare samples of lichens and to understand what you are seeing under the scope,
being totally without any skills in the use of a microscope does not help either
a nice pictorial guide in simple terms would fit the bill nicely

Brian.

Yes, my intention for quite some time has been to write something of the sort for my site. I have been taking photographs for this for a year or so now, but I don't know when I'll have time to put it together.
One annoyance is that while I have been able to take high resolution photomicrographs on film, I haven't yet obtained the same precision with digital photography. Something I still need to work on (in view of the price of colour slide film now!)

As Jenny has said, Frank Dobson's 'Lichens', as well as being the best identification guide around, also has an extensive introduction on how to examine lichens. Not only is he one of our foremost lichenologists, but he also has the gift of writing simply and clearly.
Just occasionally I feel my own beginner's experience is not always matching something in his book, but such moments of doubt are few, and anyone trying to identify lichens should consult his book if they possibly can.

Alan

[kiltoncomp]

Originally Posted by AlanS

Yes, my intention for quite some time has been to write something of the sort for my site. I have been taking photographs for this for a year or so now, but I don't know when I'll have time to put it together.
One annoyance is that while I have been able to take high resolution photomicrographs on film, I haven't yet obtained the same precision with digital photography. Something I still need to work on (in view of the price of colour slide film now!)

As Jenny has said, Frank Dobson's 'Lichens', as well as being the best identification guide around, also has an extensive introduction on how to examine lichens. Not only is he one of our foremost lichenologists, but he also has the gift of writing simply and clearly.
Just occasionally I feel my own beginner's experience is not always matching something in his book, but such moments of doubt are few, and anyone trying to identify lichens should consult his book if they possibly can.

Alan

i look forward to your guide appearing on your website, im sure it will be just the thing that everyone will appreciate and find very usefull,
its amazing how many hours you can spend putting together even a simple website, never mind something as complex as yours will turn out to be, even if the concept is simple and clear to understand,
in the meantime i will look out for the book by Frank Dobson, although , as they say " a picture is better than a thousand words" ,

Brian.

[SAHop]

How are the trees now? Did they recover or did they die?

Last summer this lichen covered many of the trees where I live. I'm not sure if it is linked, but over the past 8 months loads of trees have died. Some still stand folorn or leaning with no twigs and branches breaking off from time to time, others have fallen and many rotted as they stood.. . and the lichen is spreading. It is prolific, covering not only hedges and trees, but walls and roofs too.

Sadly I can't seem to upload any images as I keep getting an error message telling me my file size is too big - any ideas?

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by SAHop

How are the trees now? Did they recover or did they die?

Last summer this lichen covered many of the trees where I live. I'm not sure if it is linked, but over the past 8 months loads of trees have died. Some still stand folorn or leaning with no twigs and branches breaking off from time to time, others have fallen and many rotted as they stood.. . and the lichen is spreading. It is prolific, covering not only hedges and trees, but walls and roofs too.

Sadly I can't seem to upload any images as I keep getting an error message telling me my file size is too big - any ideas?

Hi SAHop and a very warm welcome to WAB

See here for uploading images:

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/fo...otos-info.html

John

[SAHop]

Hi John

Thanks for referring me on re photos but i still can't do it! I can't get the photos to the right size - I have roxio creator de and windows photo Gallery on my laptop but can't see how to change the pixels using either...

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by SAHop

Hi John

Thanks for referring me on re photos but i still can't do it! I can't get the photos to the right size - I have roxio creator de and windows photo Gallery on my laptop but can't see how to change the pixels using either...

Download picasa from Google ... It's free and easy to use

John

[SAHop]

I've done it!!! Thank you SO much! What a fantastic website - I feel at last I've found some like minded people who care about the wildlife of Britain!... and I thought I was on my own! Looking at all the wonderful photos in the Gallery is lifting my spirits - maybe Spring is just around the corner after all!

[SAHop]

Here's the lichen - is it Xanthoria SP? and what about the blue/green coloured one on the tree trunk - that seems to have teemed up with the yellow one...