Tree Lichen?

[diatom dave]

SPotted this species while walking past a small deciduous copse near Boulsworth Hill in Pendle, N E Lancashire at a height of approx. 1200feet. Can anyone help me to identify it please?

[Lancashire Lad]

I can't really see any of the undersides of the thallus, but I think this is probably the lichen Oak Moss - Evernia prunastri.

If it is, the undersides would be very pale, which would differentiate it from Ramalina's

It is very common in Lancashire though, and it looks like E.prunastri to me.

Regards,
Mik.

[diatom dave]

Thanks Mik, I'm a real newcomer to lichens so all help is really appreciated. Even though I've bought myself a couple of decent books it's still a devil of a job to get many of them to species level. As with all identification, experience and patience are so important.

[AlanS]

Sorry, but I have to disagree with Lancashire Lad on this one. The rather irregular but broad strap shape and the wrinkles on the surface point to this being Ramalina fraxinea, which is the same colour on both surfaces.

It looks like it is lacking any fruiting structures, which would have been useful to have separated it from the sometimes similar R. canariensis, but the latter would almost certainly have been showing asexual reproductive features (soredia) instead, even in what is evidently a rather exposed habitat. In any case, R. canariensis is much the rarer of the two in the north.

R. fraxinea is a species that is making a comeback following reduced sulphur dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

Alan