Yellow Lichen for ID please

[Cordaline]

This yellow Lichen caught my eye, growing at the base of a Beech Tree by my Daughters school.
I've never taken a pic of Lichen before, so please excuse it's lack of close up.
I was trying to get as much of it in the shot as I could.
It would be nice to know what it is, if anyone can help please.

[AlanS]

Hello Cordaline,

I am afraid that close examination is needed for identification of almost any lichen, and there are quite a few that are yellow and grow on trees.

However, even without a close-up, we can see that the lichen has a "foliose" (leaf-like) structure and there really is only one likely candidate that is visibly foliose at this distance. It is almost certainly Xanthoria parietina, which you will see features in other recent threads in this forum.

It is tolerant of ammonium/nitrate deposition that is now a feature of much of lowland Britain (traffic fumes, agrochemical drift, etc.) and so has become one of our commonest lichens.

Alan

[Cordaline]

Originally Posted by AlanS

Hello Cordaline,

I am afraid that close examination is needed for identification of almost any lichen, and there are quite a few that are yellow and grow on trees.

However, even without a close-up, we can see that the lichen has a "foliose" (leaf-like) structure and there really is only one likely candidate that is visibly foliose at this distance. It is almost certainly Xanthoria parietina, which you will see features in other recent threads in this forum.

It is tolerant of ammonium/nitrate deposition that is now a feature of much of lowland Britain (traffic fumes, agrochemical drift, etc.) and so has become one of our commonest lichens.

Alan

Thanks for that Alan.
Next time I'll get the Macro on any I see.