Great How is a small (c330m) but imposing hill at the north end of Thirlmere – map. It’s part of the Thirlmere Woods SSSI, designated for Atlantic bryophytes, with a mix of oak, hazel, birch and ash trees. It was last assessed by Natural England in 2009 when its status was “Unfavourable-Recovering”. Almost all the woodland around the reservoir is non-native conifer plantation but three fragments of old broadleaved trees remain to make up the SSSI. There are ongoing efforts to remove exotic conifers from these woods.
Our route left the minor road by the Thirlmere dam where a footpath skirts the western side of the hill. For once the weather was kind to us – when benign it allows everything to be seen much better in the field, not to mention the enjoyment/comfort factor. The day dawned very cold with frost encrusting the sheets of Peltigera praetextata we saw at the start on the north-facing wall by the road but the mist burned off (it really did) and by lunchtime, when we made it to a south-facing point looking down Thirlmere, it was positively balmy in the sun.
Recent stormy weather had brought many canopy lichens down to the ground for easy viewing so a good range of common acidic bark species were examined. This was great for showing the diversity of lichen morphology to the keen beginners who’d come along. The path skirted some intermittently damp rock faces with interesting crustose species, including the common Baeomyces rufus with pink-brown “mushroom” fruiting bodies, Lepraria membranacea in drier recesses (powdery, yet forming marginal lobe-like structures with upturned rims), red and purple-brown mosaics of Opegrapha gyrocarpa and Enterographa zonata, and a possible example of the rarer Schismatomma umbrinum with a pale brown scurfy crust breaking down into soredia. Close examination of oak trunks nearby revealed a tiny species growing over moss with minute isidia-like structures. Looking under the microscope later these turned out to be pycnidia and we were able to identify this as Micarea stipitata.
As we got further round the base of the hill the slope above became more gentle so we decided to leave the path and head directly up, examining trees as we went. This was a good move as Cetrelia olivetorum, Arthonia vinosa, Lopadium disciforme and Pachyphiale carneola, the latter on hazel, were found here. After rejoining the track below the summit we refound the copious Bryoria fuscescens seen on our earlier recce, though sadly the old oak had been brought down in the storms. Also near here were Mycoblastus sanguinarius, good quantities of Sphaerophorus globosus and beautiful clear grey-blue patches of Hypotrachyna laevigata, all indicating acidic bark.
There was a total for the day of 68 species. We didn’t visit the steeper areas on the north side of the hill where no doubt further lichens could be found. The east side is mainly a beech plantation and large parts of Great How have in the past been planted with exotic conifers, now slowly being removed with evidence of recent native tree planting. The remaining fragments of good quality old oaks on the western side are a sad reminder of what the wider Thirlmere woods might once have been like before the Sitka monoculture we see today. Hopefully they will survive to help regrow a future oak forest.
Caz Walker
Photos: Pete Martin, Judith Allinson, Clare Shaw and Chris Cant
Lichens in the Protoblastenia genus are all saxicolous crusts with orange apothecia; they are found on limestone with P. rupestris also widespread on mortar or concrete. There are three common species:
Protoblastenia incrustans: small immersed fruit to 0.5mm wide; empty pits found. More info on this species
Protoblastenia rupestris: green/grey areolate thallus, with fruit to 1 mm, not immersed. More info on this species
Protoblastenia calva: strongly convex fruit to 1.5mm, in shallow pits when young. More info on this species
The immersed small fruit of P. incrustans are distinctive. The size of the fruit for the two others overlap, so looking for an areolate thallus (P. rupestris) or shallow pits (P. calva) is the best guide. The spores of the three species are similar so this feature cannot easily be used to distinguish between them.
There are three other Protoblastenia species but these are rare:
P. rupestris is found on limestone, mortar and concrete (which contain limestone) ie almost everywhere in GB&I.
P. incrustans and P. calva are found on hard limestone. The distribution maps correspond to the geological outcropping of this rock.
Our local patch is Knipe Scar which is a limestone pavement and outcrop on the eastern fringe of the Lake District in Cumbria. Protoblastenia species occur on the vertical edge and on the clints of the limestone pavement.
Knipe Scar
Knipe Scar limestone pavement
Protoblastenia or Caloplaca?
Caloplaca is the main other saxicolous genus that has orange fruit.
Caloplaca fruit always have a margin; Protoblastenia does not have a margin.
Caloplaca fruit are always flat; Protoblastenia incrustans is flat; the other two are convex.
Caloplaca may have a yellow or orange thallus. Protoblastenia never has a yellow or orange thallus.
Caloplaca fruit has polarilocular spores; Protoblastenia spores are simple.
Both Caloplaca and Protoblastenia are K+ crimson.
Protoblastenia calva: K+ crimson
Caloplaca gallery
Anything else it could be?
These genera do have orange fruit but also always have a distinctive margin:
Candelariella
Gyalecta
Petractis
Protoblastenia incrustans
Small apothecia, up to 0.5mm, with no margin, immersed in pits; some pits may be empty
Flat pale orange apothecia, fully immersed with the top level with the limestone surface
Thallus pale or grey or endolithic, ie within the limestone
K+ crimson
On hard limestone
Distinctive once you’ve got your eye in.
Protoblastenia rupestris
Medium-sized apothecia, up to 1mm, with no margin, not immersed in pits
Flattened convex orange apothecia
Variable thallus: often green-brown and areolate
K+ crimson
On hard limestone, mortar or concrete
Can look similar to P. calva: don’t use apothecia size to differentiate. If thallus is areolate then it’s P. rupestris. If smooth then it’s P. calva. If substrate is mortar or concrete then almost certainly P. rupestris. P. rupestris fruit can be a duller orange than P. calva. If some shallow pits visible, then it’s P. calva.
Protoblastenia rupestris on limestone
Protoblastenia rupestris on concrete
Protoblastenia calva
Larger apothecia, up to 1.5mm, with no margin, often immersed in shallow pits
More convex brighter orange apothecia
Thallus: white or cream or grey, smooth or endolithic
K+ crimson
On hard limestone
Can look similar to P. rupestris: don’t use apothecia size to differentiate. If thallus is areolate then it’s P. rupestris. If smooth then it’s P. calva. If substrate is mortar or concrete then almost certainly P. rupestris. If some shallow pits visible, then it’s P. calva.
Lobaria pulmonaria on ash at Glencoyne Farm wood pasture
Lichens
A group of four lichen and eight bryophyte people met beside Ullswater to walk up into the Glencoyne valley on a breezy, overcast but largely dry day. Kerry, the trip leader, had surveyed this spot before and noted several old ash trees supporting colonies of the important Atlantic woodland lichen Lobaria pulmonaria, warranting further investigation to check for other Lobarion community species.
The western shore of Ullswater has several areas where remnants of ecologically significant woodland can be found. The wood pasture and woodlands near Aira Force have been surveyed by lichenologists but above Glencoyne Farm, where the east-facing valley narrows, there is a wood of old ash trees, well spaced out on the slopes above the beck which had not been visited by specialists. The National Trust and the tenants of the farm were happy for us to take a look.
The plan was for the lichen and bryophyte groups to stay together for the morning and for once we managed this – usually the lichen lot get stuck in the car park looking at trees and walls whilst the bryo people have disappeared in the direction of the nearest beck or bog. We had also agreed to head directly to the target monad containing the main patch of woodland, though some of us couldn’t resist looking at and discussing some lovely Peltigera en route and had to hurry to catch up.
The first tree of interest, a well-lit hawthorn, had some good crustose species, like the tiny discs of Dimerella pineti, and a range of foliose lichens.
We slowly worked our way from ash to ash up the slope, aiming for a huge old tree that Kerry knew had a good sized patch of Lobaria pulmonaria. This was very impressive and we spent some time looking at the rest of the tree and others nearby, including several large hollow ash trees. Three other L pulmonaria trees were spotted and the precise grid references taken.
As it turned out we didn’t find the leafy species that might be associated with the Lobarion community in western Scotland or Borrowdale, such as Sticta, Nephroma and Parmeliella, but there were some lovely tiny crusts on some trees that required examining later under the microscope – Normandina acroglypta, Anisomeridium biforme, A polypori and A ranunculosporum, Agonimia allobata, A tristicula. and Thelenella muscorum. A couple of jelly lichens were on ash trees – Leptogium lichenoides and Collema flaccidum, both species of slightly more acidic substrates. The distinctive white-spotted grey leafy Cetrelia olivetorum was seen on three trees and five species of Peltigera on a variety of substrates. Several lichens which indicate ecological continuity (woodland cover continuously present for a long period) were missing, eg we did not see Thelotrema lepadinum, and there were relatively few lirellate species – Opegrapha varia and O niveoatra were on ash with a small amount of Graphis scripta and G elegans seen on hazel beside the beck. A fair few of the ash trees seemed to have acidic bark based on their lichen flora, supporting Cladonia and Parmelia species. There were also nice boulders and small outcrops with a range of acidic rock species.
In the end we recorded nearly 90 species but dusk and the onset of rain, not to mention mental exhaustion, meant we didn’t look at every tree. As usual we’ll have to go back another time.
Caz Walker
Photos: Pete Martin and Chris Cant
Bryophytes
It was a reasonably fine day when we gathered in the NT car park at Glencoyne. Any day that isn’t pouring with rain is, after all, a lucky bonus! It was great to see such a great turnout – twelve in total, with two new visitors (Richard and Lizzie) all the way from the Northumberland border. Our plan was to visit a little recorded area of wood pasture on slopes upstream of Glencoyne Farm, around NY376187. This area is usually off-limits, with no public footpaths, but we had permission from the farmer, who is very helpful and interested in conservation. Kerry had previously noticed species of interest during a Veteran Tree Survey a few years ago, including Lobaria pulmonaria and Antitrichia curtipendula, so it seemed worth exploring it more thoroughly.
We decided to head straight for the target monad and managed to avoid being distracted too much until we reached the edge of the square, heading towards a nice slope dotted with ash and other trees. The lichen group split off to look at the trees while the bryophyte lot explored some of the rocks, looking out in particular for the Antitrichia curtipendula. The steeper slopes had scattered boulders with a good range of bryophytes.
Exploring trees and rocks on sloping wood pasture.
There was much discussion about the identity of small Polytrichum mosses (Polytrichastrum formosum and Polytrichum piliferum), Camplylopus flexuosus, Scapania nemorea and Barbilophozia barbata, and some lovely patches of Ptilidium ciliare were admired. Among the Thuidium tamariscinum Peter pointed out patches of a paler green, more three-dimensional Thuidium which he suggested was likely to be Thuidium delicatulum. Examination under the microscope later proved him correct, the defining feature being the crown of papillae on the leaf at the tip of the shoot.
Distinctive leaf tips on Thuidium tamariscum
Heading back down towards the trees, we homed in on a rotting log which revealed Riccia palmata as well as lots of Nowelia curvifolia. The base of a tree had a good patch of Isothecium alopecuroides, with its blunt, concave leaves, as well as the more usual Isothecium myosuroides, while another tree base with lovely Pterogonium gracile. Some fallen branches had tufts of Orthotrichum lyellii, with a distinctive scattering of dark gemmae looking rather like a fungal infection. Crevices in the ground sheltered large quantities of Homalia trichomanoides.
Pterogonium gracile
After a short lunch break, the bryologists headed down to the beck to see if we could find more interesting species there. The rocks were covered in Sciuro-hypnum plumosum and Sciuro-hypnum populeum, with lots of capsules, and there were a couple of nice patches of Plagiochila spinulosa; also Schistidium rivulare, Barbilophozia barbata and B. floerkei and Scapania compacta.
Brachythecium plumosum
Plagiochila spinulosa
With the afternoon drawing on and daylight starting to fade, we thought it was time to call it a day and headed out of the gill and back towards the farm. We were all a little disappointed not to have found the Antitrichia curtipendula. Then, as we were gazing at something boring on a rock, there it was! First just a small patch, then more and more with a large, luxuriant golden cushion spreading round a tree base. A beautiful moss, it really made our day.
Antitrichia curtipendula, above, a large, golden moss forming cushions on rocks and tree bases. A distinctive feature is the hooked teeth on the leaf tips, which can just about be seen with a x20 hand lens (and good eyes).
The last, boggy field before the edge of the monad still had more to offer though, with Sphagnum angustifolium – see below – (no previous records in the area, but probably underrecorded) and Scorpidium cossonii. A great day all round.
The Coniston Coppermines area is part of the Coniston Mines and Quarries SSSI, designated for its volcanic geology which has produced veins rich in metals, especially copper. These have been mined over centuries, leaving a landscape of spoil heaps, walls and derelict buildings. Specialist metallophyte lichens grow here on a variety of substrates that might not otherwise be exposed. Parts of the area have been well-surveyed: the monad containing the main workings has 124 lichen species reported over a 40 year period, many refound in recent years and a few seriously rare. This, combined with the challenging weather, meant that we decided to treat the visit as a chance to see and try to identify these species, rather than record anything.
From the start it was very wet. The rain cleared somewhat later, but getting any books out wasn’t possible and lenses and glasses were steamed up. Rather than drive up the 1.5km track we decided to walk, which warmed us up. The owner gave us a talk about the history of the site and showed us where James and Purvis found rare lichens 40 odd years ago.
Despite it being dripping the four of us looking at lichens were able to work out several crustose species on a retaining wall. Minute differences in precisely where the soredia arise on the tiny areoles, as well as its colour, helped separate Lecanora epanora (yellow soredia on the surface) from Lecanora handelii (grey areoles with grey soredia arising at the margins). The common Lecanora soralifera (some similarities) was seen elsewhere. Several rust-coloured species turned out to be Acarospora sinopica (dark red chunky “lobes” with immersed fruit), Rhizocarpon oederi (more orange in colour with tiny but distinctive apothecia) and probably Lecidea silacea (orange very convex areoles). The commoner rusty Tremolecia atrata was seen nearby.
The combination of grazing and high metal content in the thin gravelly soil between workings has led to stunted vegetation, including heather, replicating the kind of heaths normally seen at higher altitudes. Cetraria aculeata, Dibaeis baeomyces and a range of Cladonia species were seen here.
Stereocaulon pileatum (tiny pseudopodetia tipped with soredia), Placopsis lambii, Ionaspis lacustris and Agonimia tristicula (very tiny lobes amongst moss with mortar influence) were on a ruined building.
We had an enjoyable diversion up the hill on the trail of the rare Lecidea inops which eluded us. Stereocaulon vesuvianum was abundant, as well as Stereocaulon dactyllophylum. The becks in spate were spectacular and the wet fairly mild conditions had produced a mollusc paradise with many slugs out and about feeding on lichens.
The morning mists melted away as a select foursome met by the Fell End Clouds quarry. Previous visits by lichen recorders had concentrated on the area nearest the road, so we decided to aim high; to head for the old metal mines and eastward squares with few or no records.
Of course, things didn’t quite work as planned: limestone boulders immediately grabbed our attention. Caloplaca flavescens, Squamarina cartilaginea, Acarospora cervina, Placynthium nigrum and Dermatocarpon miniatum were expected but no less lovely for that. The lack of corticolous species in the previous lists suggested the sycamore standing above the pavement had not been previously investigated so that detained us for a while. Beneath it, Acrocordia conoidea glowed pink on the shady rock, and Bilimbia sabuletorum was there on the adjacent mosses.
A short distance uphill and we found ourselves by Harry Hope’s Land; enclosed fields with an old barn/house. The Helga Frankland guide suggested Harry lived here up to 1820, but the barn seemed to be dated 1832. We couldn’t resist a look at the pollard ash, and found sheets of Pertusaria albescens and some P. pertusa. Back on the limestone, we edged around the enclosure and made it up onto pavements where heavy pebbles and green-coloured splashes indicated mineralization and mining waste. A party of skylarks headed north, four grey wagtails headed south. There was a record of Solorina saccata here, though we couldn’t find it: but there was plenty of Peltigera leucophlebia about.
We headed east: Chris found some squamulose species on a low cliff including Romjularia lurida adjacent to Acaraspora cervina. Finally, we reached the unrecorded square and set to busily. There were lovely fossils, Peltigeras and common limestone species including the inset jewels of Protoblastenia incrustans. Chris and Caz picked up Farnoldia jaurana: it handily lived up to its name of “the cover slip breaker”. Eagle-eyed Caz found an Agonimia, now confirmed as A. globulifera. The only previous Cumbria record for this is far away at Askam-in-Furness! A short distance on and we were onto siliceous rocks, with Parmelias saxatilis and omphalodes;Pertusaria pseudocorallina; Cladonia portentosa and C. uncialis biuncialis among the bryophyte and sphagnum mounds.
Further on still we found a swallow hole/ limestone outcrop bearing signs of caver activity. Among the rocks we found Peltigera rufescens and Solorina saccata on the north facing slope. Opegrapha dolomitica was revealed in a little gully. The swallow hole area demanded more time, but the afternoon was slipping away. We headed back towards the road via another sycamore amidst bigger mining trenches, dating presumably from the Napoleonic Wars: Phaeophyscia orbicularis and Normandina pulchella were perhaps the highlights.
It was time to go, but on the way back down we found consolation Felwort (autumn gentian) and Carline thistle. It’s predictable, and we say it every time, but it felt as though we had merely scratched the surface of Fell End Clouds: another visit would be well worthwhile.
Kirkstone pass car park seemed busy when we arrived, with people unloading bikes and setting out on walks. It was a lovely sunny morning, but with some lingering mist above the pass. We were a small group, mainly lichen fans, so it seemed I’d be the only one looking at bryophytes. As we set off west from the car park the lichen group clustered around boulders, while I went to explore some small flushes and boggy areas. I was sure I’d seen Warnstorfia fluitans around here on a previous visit, but it didn’t want to show itself today. There was, however, a nice golden patch of Ptilidium ciliare, such an attractive liverwort that I attempted to distract the lichenologists from their boulders; they were moderately impressed by the lovely ciliate leaves or just being polite! Higher up the hillside we reached a large rock face, where Judith pointed out extensive sheets of Frullania. The shoots looked very narrow and dark, with the leaves curled under, and I wondered if it might be one of the less common species. Checking later under the microscope, it became clear that it was F. fragilifolia. The leaves were coming off on my hands and on the microscope slide, but there didn’t seem to be any really denuded stems. It was aromatic, but not as strongly as some liverworts. Other features however were much more distinctive: the underleaves were an irregular shape and often wedge shaped rather than round, the ocelli were scattered across the leaves rather than in a straight line, and the first underleaf on each branch was 3-lobed. This last feature was quite difficult to see, as it wasn’t always easy to get a clear view of the underleaf at the junction of stem and branch, but I found a few clear examples.
As we climbed higher into the corrie, the terrain became more interesting. The beck coming down the hillside was full of bryophytes, with thick black mats of Jungermannia exsertifolia, including some fertile shoots. Other species included Philonotis fontana, Dichodontium palustre and D. pellucidum, and a patch of Palustriella commutata. It was nice to see a small cushion of Anomobrym julaceum and a couple of nice bright green patches of Anoectangium aestivum as well as Amphidium mougeotii. We continued across and up to reach a large rock face, where there was more Frullania fragilifolia, and a small patch of Gymnomitrion obtusum (the rounded leaf lobes were clearly diagnostic when checked later under the microscope). Somewhere round here I found a small moss in a crevice in the ground, which had tongue-shaped leaves a bit like an Encalypta. On checking later, it turned out to be Leptodontium flexifolium, which was an exciting new find for me. We had a lunch break here and I left early to check my finds at home. It felt like a productive morning, nice to be out in the fresh air and always good to catch up with people in person.
Clare Shaw
Lichens
The weather is key to the enjoyment of montane lichens. We’d postponed this trip after the original date got itself a yellow weather warning. And then the actual day dawned misty in the valley. But as I reached the top of the Struggle I came out into the sun. Hurrah! The weather gods were being kind, and as we (6 lichen folk and a lone bryologist) gathered in the Kirkstone Pass car park an osprey wheeled above the mist to cheer us on. The crows didn’t like it though…
The great thing about that car park is that you are high up at the start of the day. A less good thing is that it’s a busy place (I counted 7 overnighting motorhomes and a strong toilet smell). It’s also a spot that spoils you for choice: so many rocks and so little time! We went west (towards the quarry and below the corrie) out of the crowds and above the clouds. There were acid rock species for everyone to enjoy. Allan Pentecost was very helpful when it came to identification of more difficult species, as well as confirming the things we’d learnt ourselves during lockdown and pointing out things we’d never thought of! There were plentiful thalli of Ophioparma ventosa (and the lichenicolous fungus Muellerella ventosicola); lots of Pertusaria corallina. We started to get to grips with Lecideas (lactea and confluens) and Porpidias (macrocarpa and soredizodes). Clare impressed us with the moss Ptilidium ciliatum. A damp rock face produced Miriquidica pycnocarpa f. sorediata and the hi-vis Arthrorhaphis citrinella. And just to the side of it, Chris found Cetraria muricata with its many spinules.
We moved a bit further west in search of more basic outcrops. The beck provided isidiate Collema glebulentum; a line of little cliffs had wood sage and roseroot and alpine ladies mantle. There was Ionaspis lacustris; Pertusaria corallina adjacent to P. pseudocorallina for comparison purposes; the slightly jaundiced thallus of Diploschistes scruposus with those lovely hollowed (urceolate) apothecia; and the somewhat scurfy Porpidia rugosa.
After lunch, Allan and Judith descended briefly and explored a gully. Massalongia carnosa and Pertusaria flavicans were the result. The others headed for a little outcrop with a hawthorn (Caz found what may be Phaeographis smithii: we await confirmation), Peltigera membranacea and Agonimia tristicula below. A damp cliff enabled Allan to show us the interesting black crust of Pyrenopsis subareolata. Dermatocarpon intestiniforme again hinted at slightly less acidic conditions. The discarded nappy was less pleasant. Higher up there was Peltigera praetextata and Collema flaccidum on beckside boulders; Allan found Fuscidea kochiana too.
But it was time to head back via an easy amble: despite not going very far we’d managed to find over 80 species. And there’s still so much to explore from that car park. Future trips could go up into the corrie; further round towards the quarry; up on the east side of Red Screes; beyond the Kirk stone itself and maybe then we could think about crossing the road…
Pete Martin
Allan Pentecost added, “For interest, the stream which we were looking at, which seems to be unnamed, had a pH of 7.4, a calcium content of 8 ppm and a specific conductivity of 113 uS/cm.”
Caz Walker and I like Umbilicaria spp and other montane lichens, so looking for the only English record of U. hyperborea on Cross Fell in the Pennines was a challenge we couldn’t resist. Two problems: (1) there were no accurate grid references and (2) it is a long walk in so there might not be much time available for searching. OK and (3) the weather: the species up there are called arctic-alpine for good reason.
Cross Fell summit shelter
The British Lichen Society database has just one entry for Cumbria for Umbilicaria hyperborea, dated 27/7/1979 on a BLS field trip, with a hectad grid reference NY63 giving us 10km x 10km to search! The record gives the location as “Cross Fell” with the notes saying “on tops of several boulders in sheltered enclave on the N side; an area of late snow-lie”. Narrows it down a bit. This was echoed in the field trip report in the Lichenologist: “In a slightly sheltered enclave on the N side where the snow often lies into June, U. hyperborea was seen in its only English locality, on tops of several boulders.” It also references an earlier article by Rod Corner announcing the original discovery on 6/7/77 where it was “Seen in at least two areas of discontinuous scree”, adding that “Cetrariella commixta , a rare montane species in England, was an associated species.”
OK, not much to go on, but definitely a help. Cross Fell and the other hills nearby are a layer cake with harder sandstone rocks outcropping at the edge of the summit plateau interspersed with mudstone and limestone layers lower down. A look at the Ordnance Survey map shows that the area called “The Screes” to the north-east of the summit shelter looks like where to look.
On our previous trip, we’d slogged up from the Eden valley to Little Dun Fell: a long walk in and out. We got permission from Natural England to reduce the walk in from the Great Dun Fell side – whew!
The day we chose to go, it was due to clear up at lunch time. It was August, but we set off in the cloud with virtually all our winter gear on amid occasional showers driven by a strong wind. At the top of Great Dun Fell, it was still very misty so we couldn’t see the big golf ball when we walked past 25m away!
Despite poor visibility, we soon found nice lichens on Great Dun Fell in the low heath near the track of the Pennine Way including several small patches of Cetraria islandica. These were not seen on Little Dun Fell, though we knew from our previous trip that the rocks just north of the summit held some great saxicolous species.
When we got onto the Cross Fell plateau Cetraria islandica appeared again, along with Fuscidea lygaea and Myriospora smaragdula on rocks. The weather started to clear as we hunkered down out of the wind at the summit shelter for a first lunch and a hot drink. We headed over to The Screes on the north side of the plateau and saw a dauntingly huge area of large boulders stretching into the distance, many with an orange covering of algae.
We started looking for vague recesses where snow might lie. Things started to hot up: we started finding some Umbilicaria spp including quite a green looking U. deusta. And then Caz hit the jackpot, finding what looked like U. hyperborea. There were two thalli on one boulder and I soon spotted another couple on another boulder nearby.
Umbilicaria species are often identified on morphological features, rather than chemical tests or spores, and are usually found in prominent sites on top of boulders or outcrops. They all have a central holdfast on each thallus. Looking at the upper and lower surface carefully is required, noting whether there are marginal fibrils. In this case, there were quite a few gyrose fruit but no idisia, soredia, granules or fibrils. The dark brown upper surface had small sinuous folds except at the edges, with one or two new lobes appearing less lumpy. The margins were lacerate. Wetting the lobes we carefully looked underneath: it was uniformly brown with no rhizinomorphs and no thalloconidia. It looked spot on! Success! We took a very small sample in case any confirmation is needed. According to the ViewRanger app on my phone we were at just under 850m above sea level.
The alternative candidates include U. cylindrica which has abundant marginal fibrils. U. proboscidea has ridges around the centre of the upper surface, not small folds; it’s not lacerate at the margin. U. torrefacta has a lower surface with fibrous strands (trabeculae/lamellae). The rarer U. nylanderiana has a black lower surface with single-celled thalloconidia present.
On the same boulders were a few Melanelia hepatizon and several Cetrariella commixta – splendid. Soon afterwards, Caz found another arctic-alpine specialist Allantoparmelia alpicola along with Parmeliopsis ambigua which we’d seen on Little Dun Fell. There was also the bobbly version of Stereocaulon vesuvianum ie var. nodulosum. We also spotted a bright yellow Rhizocarpon – it would be great if this were montane specialist R. alpicola. However later dissection showed it to be R. lecanorinum. R. alpicola has 1-septate spores, while in R. lecanorinum they are muriform. The literature describes the spores as brown; ours were clearly green as found in other photos online.
We also found Ionaspis lacustris on some exposed rocks, not near water, where it is usually found. We’re guessing that the atmosphere is usually very damp here; indeed quite a few lichens were very swollen. On the way back we saw Ochrolechia frigida on Cross Fell and Lichenomphalia umbellifera on Little and Great Dun Fell.
We were lucky: we only scratched the surface of the Cross Fell scree area. There’s a huge number more boulders to explore. We didn’t find Frutidella caesioatra which was described as being on Cross Fell at “the same site, found on a sheltered ledge formed by the juxtaposition of two boulders”. This’ll be much harder to spot – fancy joining us to have a look?
Chris Cant
Coppins & Gilbert (1981). Field Meeting near Penrith. Lichenologist 13(2): p193
Corner (1978). Umbilicaria hyperborea discovered in England. Lichenologist 10: p134
2020 was a difficult year. Covid disrupted the usual routines; courses and face-to-face meetings were cancelled; injury affected lots of things too. Thank goodness for lichens! Shortly before the first lockdown began, Chris Cant produced maps of lichen records in Cumbria, including the number of records for each square. So many squares had no records…
… and even in my relatively well-surveyed home 10km square (NY30- Ambleside area) nearly half the monads seemed unvisited. Shortly beforehand, I had started sending in lichen records to Janet Simkin at the British Lichen Society (BLS). So it seemed like a challenge was being laid down: I’d try to record from all the 1km squares in my home hectad.
Needless to say, I failed in my attempt to visit all the squares in 2020: recurrent injury put paid to that. But by summer 2021 the project was complete. There’s over 3000 records on the BLS database and I can safely say that local square recording is a great way to explore an area’s lichens and habitats. I have moved out of the woods and spend more time looking at rocks and walls and buildings. And that desire to get to grips with what I can find locally has significantly improved my identification skills.
Partly because of this, comparisons of the numbers of species found in different squares (and so on) don’t really bear scrutiny: I made no attempt to make visits comparative. But a quick glance at the records shows the only lichen found in every square was Parmelia saxatilis, though Rhizocarpon geographicum (91 records) wasn’t far behind. I was fairly pleased by the “rarity” of Xanthoria parietina (53 squares): maybe nitrogen pollution isn’t quite as overwhelming as I sometimes fear. I found Normandina pulchella in a perhaps surprising 74 squares. That can’t just be because it’s very recognisable: there must be a lot of suitable habitat for it.
Along the way I found lots of interesting lichens: a new site for Sticta fuliginosa s.l. (in a quarry used by outdoor activity centres); the first Bunodophoron melanocarpum and Micarea alabastrites in the South Lakes, the first Gyalecta derivata in Westmorland. And “just outside the square” were a new crag with Umbilicaria crustulosa and a new site for Lobaria virens in Langdale. But more importantly I have learnt a great deal about the lichens of the area and their habitats. I might not have found any “new” woods overflowing with Lobarion, but I’ve discovered hitherto unsuspected basic crags in acid-rocked valleys, and developed an interest in old barns. Peltigera leucophlebia turns out (to my surprise) to be not uncommon on the fells; once I got my eye in Anisomeridium polypori is often to be found on older trees.
There have also, of course, been memorable human interactions: the potential Samaritan who saw me lying by a rock and stopped their car in the middle of a usually busy road to check I was Ok; the young man from Wuhan touring Britain in the midst of the first lockdown (!); the man who was delighted when I showed him Stenocybe septata on an old holly and taught me the Gaelic word “Eolas”, knowledge gained by experience. An apt word for lichen hunting?
As an obsessive walker, cyclist and explorer I thought after nearly 20 years that I knew my local area pretty well. But the need to visit each square kilometre has had me visiting paths and tributary valleys I never knew existed; exploring the little grove of oaks I can see from my window that has never been on the way to anywhere (a nice patch of Sphaerophorus globosus since you ask). And then there’s what I call the lichen by-catch: the first wood warbler of 2020, migrating whooper swans crossing the fells and purple hairstreaks in Langdale.
Questions have been thrown up: whilst so many woodlands have Hypotrachyna laevigata, why is it often on just the one tree? Why is Physcia adscendens so relatively (only 5 squares) rare here? And realisations have been made made: the lichens of basic rocks are pretty widespread thanks to lime mortar creating suitable little “cliffs”. How woodland rocks must have been a vital refuge over the centuries of coppicing and clear felling: Ochrolechia androgyna, Sphaerophorus globosus and Mycoblastus sanguinarius (amongst others) could survive on boulders and cliffs when there were no trees.
So what’s the next project? Shall I go south to SD39, or south east to SD49? Or maybe I should follow the example of peak baggers and do another round? For if the year and a bit of monad recording has taught me one thing, it’s that there is an almost limitless scope for getting out and exploring the many and varied habitats of my local area, learning about its species and trying to understand their ecology. And how a relatively small area, albeit a very varied one, can hold my interest.
Cumbria Lichen and Bryophyte Group on Carrock Fell
This trip took place during a spell of extremely hot and dry weather, but a few brave souls still turned up. It was too hot to do very much, and the bryophytes would be very dry, so we set off in one group up the steep path to Carrock Fell. Most of us made it to the top, bolstered by a very slight breeze and a few bilberries. It was a great skill-sharing session, introducing new lichenologists to species found on Cumbrian hills and a few montane specialists at the top. And we found some common species that hadn’t been reported before for the two monads that we visited.
The boulders beside the path had map lichen Rhizocarpon geographicum and rock tripe Lasallia pustulata immediately visible. Umbilicarias are usually higher up, but we found U. polyphylla very close to the road. While lichens on rocks can be hard to get started on, a few common species are distinctive, at least to genus. The boulders also had Xanthoparmelia conspersa, Fuscidea cyathoides, Acarospora fuscata, Tremolecia atrata, Parmelia saxatilis and P. omphalodes. While the beginners had heard various lichen terms before, being able to see them in real life helped understanding considerably. As usual, looking very closely with a hand lens is often needed, though some lichens have a jizz that you can see from afar once you have your eye in.
On the way, we started to see the terricolous lichens, ie on the ground. Cladonia portentosa is fairly common on the hills: a cluster of thin pale stalks with branches facing in all directions. Similarly, the thicker tubes of Cladonia uncialis were found along with the low pointed and sparsely branched brown Cladonia furcata. Higher up we also saw Cladonia arbuscula which is a bit like C. portentosa but with the top branches all facing in the same direction with 3 or 4 branches at each branching point. There was also Dibaeis baeomyces with small distinctive white globose propagules on the thallus (like isidia they break off to propagate) – but no fruit in this case.
Further up, we found Pertusaria (now Lepra) corallina and P. pseudocorallina side-by-side on a boulder. P. pseudocorallina has brown-tipped isidia, visible with a hand lens, while those on L. corallina were all white. These allowed us to show chemical spot tests in action. Adding a drop of K to L. corallina turned it yellow, while for P. pseudocorallina it turned yellow initially then changed to red.
As we got higher we started to see the fell top species such as the lovely Cornicularia normoerica aka “corn” which looked like a small dark moss at a glance. Also fairly typical on hills are Sphaerophorus globosus and S. fragilis. One to stick in the memory is blood spot lichen Ophioparma ventosa, together with a lichenicolous fungus growing on it, Muellerella ventosicola, officially Nationally Scarce but actually fairly common in the Lake District once you start looking for it. I’m now sufficiently confident to identify this without having to take a specimen to look at under the microscope.
In the short heather at the top, ie above 600m asl, a few true montane heath lichen species were found: “iceland moss” Cetraria islandica and “fish bones” Ochrolechia frigida, along with the more common Cetraria aculeata. By this time we were literally frazzled and reaching overload, but we did re-find the montane saxicolous species of Arctoparmelia incurva, Pseudephebe pubescens and Umbilicaria proboscidea, all uncommon in England.
We came down following the easier path to the north and skirted back round to the road, visiting a known patch of bog orchids – drier than usual but still with a couple of plants visible. I’m sure everyone needed cold drinks and cool showers when back home. Thanks to Natural England; I’ll send in our species list.
It was a small and select group of three who gathered on a lovely June day to look at lichens at Roudsea: this time the bryophyte group was rather larger!
For once, we made it out of the car park quite quickly: maybe the midges helped. But not before we had considered the question of whether to record something present on a temporary woodpile that obviously hadn’t originated there. What’s the form? We ambled slowly up the central valley boardwalk: contorted old yews growing out of the limestone cliffs gave shady sites for Acrocrodia conoidea; the hazels had Arthonia elegans: the variety of sedges gave lots of distraction opportunities.
Further on, just off the boardwalk, we lingered by a remarkable patch of Peltigera leucophlebia. Dull grey in the dry conditions, a quick dousing with water turned it bright green. I normally see P. leucophlebia in small scrappy patches on the open fellside or above limestone outcrops, but here it grows prolifically over mossy boulders and up a tree, covering maybe 2m by 2m, despite being shaded. The buckthorn above provided a good selection of nitrophilous species.
Further along the valley we examined more open limestone outcrops: Gyalecta jenensis, Opegrapha calcarea, Verrucaria baldensis, Caloplaca chrysodeta, and some lovely wild Aquilegias were found. Nearby ashes had Thelotrema lepadinum. But it was lunchtime so, in search of a sunnier sandwich spot, we headed out to the coast.
We ended up in a lovely suntrap with a view over tidal waters; a train crossed the viaduct and shelduck flew past. Nearby siliceous rocks provided a contrast to the morning’s limestone species: bright yellow Xanthoria parietina; the stretching lobes of Anaptychia runcinata; Rhizocarpon geographicum and R. richardii; Lecanora muralis, L. polytropa and L. gangaleoides.
Heading back through the oakwoods, we found Anisomeridium polypori and Parmotrema perlatum. But the woods weren’t rich in lichens: they have obviously been managed by clear felling in the past and will also have received pollution from Ulverston and Barrow over the recent centuries.
An “extra time” excursion onto the Moss boardwalk produced more species: acidophiles like Hypogymnia physodes and Parmeliopsis ambigua on pine trees; Mycoglaena myricae on bog myrtle and Normandina pulchella on hazel.
So, whilst we didn’t find any stunningly rare species at Roudsea, there was lots of interest. The variety of habitats make the place very special. Thank you to Natural England for the permission to visit- I’m sure I will want to return to find yet more things lurking there.
