Category: Trip report

Lichens

It seems to be an annual occurrence now: to have a field trip during very hot dry weather. A couple of attendees had sensibly dropped out in advance. We started off in the open on the limestone at the edge of Little Asby Scar, but retreated into the shade of the hawthorns next to Sunbiggin Tarn until we boiled off at 3pm.

The day was one of a series of events in August to celebrate the life of Frank Dobson who died in December 2021. He wrote several lichen books including the essential “Lichens: An Illustrated Guide to the British and Irish Species” now in its seventh edition in 2018. This is a vital part of any lichen outing with keys and information on morphology and chemistry to help identify lichens in the field and when back at base eg using microscopes. On this trip, we had three “Dobsons” on the go at one point trying to work out an id. The British Lichen Society (BLS) will be updating this guide book in due course, no doubt including recent taxonomic changes.

The limestone had some nice usual suspects such as Caloplaca flavescens, Dermatocarpon miniatum, Placynthium nigrum, Protoblastenia rupestris and Squamarina cartilaginea. We spent some time on a Lecanora but didn’t come to a conclusion.

Sue found some perithecia with a black on white cracked crust, which she recognised as potentially being Acrocordia conoidea. Back at base, Chris and Caz eventually concluded that it must be a Verrucaria as it had simple spores that weren’t uniseriate in the ascus – and keyed out a tentative species identification, but the experts we consulted weren’t convinced. Verrucaria species can be tricky to identify, especially where there’s a crust of algae or cyanobacteria on top, as in this case.

Near the tarn, we found some shade for lunch behind a dry-stone wall which sported some more lichens for id. After that we moved to the nearby hawthorns which can be a good habitat for lichens, though the thorns do make it harder to look. There were a couple of instances of the large Ramalina fraxinea along with the more common R. fastigiata and R. farinacea, along with similar looking Evernia prunastri. It was good to hide in the shade, using Dobson to key out some species.

Nearby there was some earthy limestone with some Cladonia species on the edge of the rocks. We saw Toninia verrucarioides growing on top of Placynthium nigrum, along with a dry Leptogium pulvinatum.

We ended up with almost 50 species identified. It is always a pleasure to share a lichen enthusiasm with others in the field.

Text and photos: Chris Cant

Bryophytes

I didn’t have very high hopes of the outing to Sunbiggin Tarn. The forecast was for another very hot day, and although there had been some rain a few days before, it seemed likely that the bryophytes would be dry and tightly curled against the heat. However, four of us had braved the hot conditions and it was good to meet up and to be outdoors.

We parked in the big layby above the Tarn, just west of Little Asby, and started with a look at the remains of limestone pavement to the east of the layby. It was good to familiarise ourselves with some typical limestone species including Neckera crispa, Ctenidium molluscum, Grimmia pulvinata, Scapania aspera, Tortula muralis, Tortella tortuosa, Syntrichia montana, Hypnum lacunosum and Homalothecium sericeum. More surprising was Climacium dendroides, usually a species of damp places. David and Andy found some interesting wispy species, and consulting our field guides we decided they were likely to be Flexitrichum gracile and flexicaule (previously both in the Ditrichum genus). Both are lime-loving species and F. gracile is commonly found on limestone grassland, but F. flexicaule is much rarer and restricted mainly to limestone rocks. In this case it was distinctive, with many stiff, upright stems as shown in the field guide photos and described as ‘thin, deciduous branches with short leaves’. Microscope examination confirmed this ID, with the F. flexicaule shoots showing relatively short leaves on the longer shoots. Leaf sections ofthis species also showed a more abrupt transition between the leaf lamina and the costa compared to F. gracile, where you can’t see a clear ‘edge’ to the costa.

Once we felt we’d seen most of the species we were likely to find here, we drove down to the tarn and went to investigate the boggy area west of the road and down to Tarn Sike. The ground was not exactly boggy, but still damp enough for the bryophytes to be holding on. There were a few Sphagnum species (S. capillifolium, S. subnitens, S. palustre), also Breutelia chrysocoma, Aneura pinguis, Palustriella commutata and falcata, Scorpidium scorpioides and cossonii, Aulacomium palustre. There was a tiny rivulet of still-running water where we were pleased to spot Calliergon gigantea in several patches. There were extensive patches of a blackish Jungermannia liverwort, probably J. atrovirens or pumila, but impossible to definitively identify without perianths. J atrovirens according to the field guide is most common in limestone districts, but both are sometimes found together.

We made our way down to the road, passing some lovely autumn gentian, and from there down to the tarn, where we enjoyed the cool shade of a few trees. There were a few epiphytes there: Ulota phylantha, Ulota crispa, Frullania dilatata, Metzgeria fruticulosa, and a spectacular, very large Puss moth caterpillar spotted by Kerry. At the edge of the tarn was some Fontinalis antipyretica. By now it was about 2 o’clock and getting seriously hot, so we agreed to call it a day and headed back towards the cars. But we were soon distracted by a large boggy area with more Palustriella commutata and cushions of Philonotis fontana, where we were also excited to find some really good areas of Philonotis calcarea. There were actually several patches, looking really healthy and very distinctively curved to one side.

So all in all, it was a surprisingly good day and we were very happy with the interesting finds, though the species list is likely to be quite limited.

Text and photos: Clare Shaw

Bryophytes

A beautiful spring day saw a record turnout for a visit to Brantwood, the home of John Ruskin from 1871 to 1900. The Brantwood Estate covers nearly 90 hectares with a range of different habitats present from lakeshore and garden to oak woodland, gills, mires and upland heath. The general objective of the day was to visit each of these habitats if possible, and generate a decent list of species.

After a general introduction in the orchard, nine bryologists and five enthusiastic estate staff headed into the gardens, leaving the lichenologists examining the apple trees. The short walk from the car park to the Moss Garden produced 38 species, mostly common garden bryophytes but with some good woodland species too such as Dicranum majus and Nowellia curvifolia, plus indicators of base-rich rock and soil, such as Ctenidium molluscum, Neckera complanata and Tortella tortuosa. In the Moss Garden a lush carpet of mostly Rhytidiadelphus loreus under wide spaced oaks produced a stunning visual effect, despite (or perhaps because of) the dominance of one species. Closer inspection revealed several other species here including Tetraphis pellucida on a dead tree stump.

The group then moved swiftly on to Beck Leven, the watercourse which marks the southern boundary of the estate. Oceanic species such as Jubula hutchinsae, Hyocomium armoricum, Plagiochila spinulosa, Platyhypnidium riparoides, and Saccogyna viticulosa were all readily found, together with other more widespread but distinctive mosses of wet places such as Hookeria lucens, Thamnobryum alopecurum and Dichodontium pellucidum. A nice patch of Jamesoniella autumnalis was found on a nearby oak. After lunch, we followed the beck up onto Crag Head, a large intake which includes the highest point on the estate (230m). Fantastic views across Coniston Water to the Old Man and Wetherlam were a temporary distraction until we found the first of a series of mires which produced several sphagna (Sphagnum subnitens, S. capillifolium and S. papillosum) together with Aulocomium palustre and Breutelia chrysocoma. A larger mire with bog pools proved to be more base-rich with Sphagnum contortum, Scorpidium revolvens and S cossonii, and Campylium stellatum. Thuidium delicatulum and Dicranum bonjeanii were also found here.

Descending back through the woods, a small overhanging rockface produced one of the best records for the day, a single patch of Bartramia halleriana with capsules. Our last habitat to visit was the lakeshore. Fontinalis antipyretica was found to be abundant just below the waterline, whilst Cinclidotus fontinalis was frequent on rocks. A small rocky headland gave a last minute boost to the species list with Frullania fragilifolia, Pterogonium gracile, and Trichostomum brachydontium.

At the end of the day, a small group of bryologists and lichenologists reconvened at Brantwood’s Terrace cafe for a much needed cup of tea. A total of 119 bryophytes were recorded on the estate. Many thanks to Brantwood for hosting the visit, and to their staff for their enthusiasm and for making us so welcome.

Kerry Milligan – photos from Kerry Milligan and Clare Shaw

Lichens

A large group including nine lichenologists gathered at Brantwood, 19th century home of John Ruskin, on the east shore of Coniston on a fine spring day. We were joined for a while by estate staff who were keen to find out what lichens and bryophytes they have. There have been no lichen records for Brantwood since 1965 when 42 species were recorded. First stop was the apple orchard, with a dozen small fruit trees grey with bushy lichens and a simple wooden fence equally covered with thalli. Pete gave the group a brief introduction to lichens and found plenty of examples to illustrate the main growth forms. We then recorded as many species as we could, a total of 29 lichens on trees and fence.

What happened next was a new experience for the group – a visit to the cafe for coffee and cake – followed by the more familiar episode of getting absorbed by car park lichens on stone retaining walls including Scytinium teretiusculum. Eventually we tore ourselves away and headed uphill, through the gardens, to the oak woods on the slopes above. Pete was nursing an injured knee so stayed on level ground, talking to the staff and visiting the lake shore where he found Candelaria concolor on ash, along with other lichens.

The oaks above the house looked even-aged as if planted 100-200 years ago, with an understory of hazel, holly and an occasional ash and hawthorn. Most trees had acidic bark, based on the lichen flora we saw, but there was plenty to admire including Parmelia ernstiae, Micarea alabastrites, Arthonia spadicea, Anisomeridium ranunculosporum and a good range of acidic habitat species. The beginners in the group were keen to look at the tiny features on many of the lichens, such as the coarse and fine soredia on Hypotrachyna afrorevoluta and H revoluta.

The boundary wall between wood and field had a good range of crustose lichens including Trapelia coarctata and Opegrapha gyrocarpa, while that on the opposite side of the field had Coenogonium luteum on moss, Baeomyces rufus, Diploschistes scruposus and Psilolechia lucida, amongst others. A birch in the field gave us Graphis elegans and Fuscidea lightfootii and a hazel inside the next strip of woodland was heaving with Normandina pulchella and Thelotrema lepadinum. We looked at crustose aquatic lichens in the beck for a while and kept an eye open for Dermatocarpon luridum  having heard a rumour from the bryologists, who’d been there earlier, that itwas spotted but we didn’t see that.

Before heading back towards the car park we visited an oak obviously larger and older than the others – just as well as it had several small patches of Parmeliella triptophylla on the north side of the trunk illustrating the point that oaks can become less acid-barked with age.

Some of the group were lured back to the cafe for a second time before leaving which sets a worrying precedent for future trips…..

Footnote: Pete’s specimens from the lakeshore included one which later turned out to be Normandina acroglypta. So far the total of species seen in all locations stands at about 90 with a few more possible once specimens are examined.

Caz Walker with photos from Judith Allinson, Pete Martin and Chris Cant

Bryophytes

The Bryophyte contingent was smaller than recently with only four attending on a super blue-sky day. Thornythwaite Wood is owned by the National Trust and is considered one of their top five woods in Borrowdale for bryophytes.  Ben Averis produced an excellent bryophyte report for NT in 2017 and included target notes, grid refs and photos of many of the rarer species. We therefore decided to break with tradition and head directly to find interesting species none of us had seen before.

Thornythwaite Wood has more of the look of a fellside with scattered trees than a closed canopy woodland. This enabled us to walk to the target location without stopping as the bracken-covered fell had limited interest. 

Our first stop was Combe Beck just above the waterfall. Here the beck was braided with numerous boulders. Clare and Gary quickly found a boulder on an island in the beck with Gymnomitrium crenulatum and Gymnomitrium obtusum growing in quantity next to each other. Clare then found Scapania compacta growing close by. We all had a good look and enjoyed this species, also found by Kerry at Glencoyne. As is typical of groups and rarer plants, whilst we all looked at the same boulder, some of the photos and specimens may well have been of other Scapanias. The compacta was later confirmed. (An additional species to Ben Averis’s very impressive list of 177 species.)

Other species seen around here included Hyocomium armoricum, Lophozia incisa and Scapania gracilis.

 We then headed down stream past the waterfall to a rock detailed in Ben’s report on the west side of the beck facing east just below the waterfall. The photo helped to confirm the correct boulder.  On this boulder we all enjoyed seeing Colura calyptrifolia on the vertical face. This rare species is very small but also distinctive. On this same rock was Harpalejeunea molleri and a long list of other species including Lejeunea patens. Nearby we also saw Plagiochila spinulosa and Hygrohypnum eugyrium.

We then headed up the hillside to another Ben Averis location. Gary lead us directly to Ben’s location for Adelanthus decipiens which we all admired and photographed. Only one clump. Just below it were a scratty few strands of Sematophyllum micans, mentioned in Ben’s report. We were fairly doubtful but Gary confirmed one strand later.

We then walked south and climbed towards Glaramara and then headed west down into the valley above Seathwaite Bridge. We then followed a small gill down the steep fellside towards further Ben Averis locations. On the way we saw Mylia taylorii, Frullania tamarisci growing unusually in a wet flush, and Sphagnum inundatum (but not conclusively identified!).

Using Ben’s photos we located Bartramia halleriana which unfortunately lacked capsules making recognition more of a challenge. Nearby was Plagiochila punctata. We looked carefully for Herbertus hutchinsiae but despite having a photo and grid ref we couldn’t locate. This distinctive drought intolerant species was possibly much reduced by last years dry spring and summer.

We then headed further down the same slope and located another Ben Averis site, a stone by the stream under an ash tree. This had some good colonies of Plagiochila exigua which would appear to have increased in quantity from 2017. This was also a new species for us all which we were very pleased to see. A rare but distinctive species. The stone also supported Lejeunea patens and Lejeunea cavifolia. In this general area we also saw Hygrohypnum subeugyrium and Fontinalis antipyretica.

As the sun was about to set we headed down the slope and walked along the footpath back to the car park. Thornythwaite Wood is a very good bryophyte location and we all felt it would be worth a further visit. 

Peter Bullard

Photos by Gary Lawrence and Clare Shaw

Lichens

On a cold and frosty morning, seven lichen hunters gathered in the car park at Thorneythwaite. And quickly realized we were on the cold and shady side of Borrowdale, as golden sun lit up the fells and Seathwaite woods. Ho hum. The frost never melted for us all day.

Ivan Day had compiled a site list for the National Trust in 2017, so we were following in illustrious footsteps. And it was obvious that we weren’t going to be able to cover anything like the whole of the area. So where should we go? Well, we started off with the nearest area: the acid-barked oaks at the north end of the wood. There were some good examples of the Parmelion community, including coral-like Sphaerophorus globosus and leafy Cetrelia olivetorum, red-flecked Mycoblastus sanguinarius and the chunky jam tarts of Ochrolechia tartarea.  We found good quantities of the barnacle-like Thelotrema lepadinum. A new species for the site was Micarea alabastrites, with white apothecia and a C+red reaction. The trees proved ideal for showing less-experienced members of the group some important lichen features. They, in turn, noticed that we performed a dance around a tree in the sun. By-catch included an impressive moth that turned out to be a Spring Usher.

After a lunchtime sitting in the relative warmth of the sun , we headed off back into the shade in search of an ash tree where Caz had found Nephroma laevigatum some years ago. If you don’t know it, it’s a smooth and leafy member of the Lobarion community. And it wasn’t on Ivan’s list. We found ash trees and Peltigera horizontalis, and more Thelotrema lepadinum. Heading south there were more hazels, which gave us Pachyphiale carneola. Protopannaria pezizoides was found on a mossy log: it well deserves its name of “lentil bake lichen”. And we disturbed a barn owl (sorry, but how was I to know there was a hole in the back of the tree I was looking at?).

We had a grid ref for Caz’s Nephroma, but that covered 100m x 100m of slow-to-move-across boulders and trees. Chris found an old ash pollard with the antiseptic smelling Parmeliella triptophylla: maybe we were getting close. We headed up slope a little and then came the cry from Paul: had he found the Nephroma? Yes, there it was, with a little more Parmeliella and lots of Normandina pulchella, Thelotrema lepadinum and Peltigera horizontalis on the same tree: a good example of the Lobarion community.

Time was getting on: but maybe there was enough light to try for the Sticta sylvatica Ivan had found in 2017? We contoured further south, passed the bryologists in the beck and came to the old elm under which the Sticta had lingered on an outcrop. But, sad to say, the elm had toppled over, and we couldn’t find any sign of the Sticta. There was lots of the frilly jelly lichen Leptogium lichenoides however, and the similar but smaller L. teretiusculum.

The journey back to the cars through lovely evening light gave us more Nephroma laevigatum on another ash pollard. A barn owl flew across; was it the same one as earlier? Thorneythwaite had proved to be a great site, with plenty of scope for other visits. But then we seem to say that every time we go anywhere!

Pete Martin

2017 video of Ivan Day on Thorneythwaite’s rare lichens:

Photos by Chris Cant, Pete Martin, Geoffrey Haigh and John Adams

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.

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.

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.

Clare Shaw

Photos: Clare Shaw

Bryophytes

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

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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.”

Thanks to Judith, Pete and Chris for the photos: