The lichen Dermatocarpon miniatum loves damp shady spots on rocks.
This one is on a rock in the ornamental rock garden in Preston Park in Brighton, Sussex. The rocks were brought from Cheddar Gorge in the 1930s to create the garden and it now provides a habitat for lichen not naturally found in Sussex.
#LichenSubscribe #Lichen
Apothecia on a species of Hypotrachyna lichen, probably H. afrorevoluta.
Apothecia, where the spores are produced, are not common on these lichen in SE England, I only see them on branches that have fallen from the tree canopy, or in this case on the trunk of a newly felled Ash. This would have been growing at least 6m above my head.
A Cladonia species of lichen growing on chalk grassland (Castle Hill NNR, Brighton). It might be Cladonia rangiformis, but there are a few species that are very similar, including C. rangiferina and C.furcata subsp subrangiformis.
So at this stage the only certainty is that it is a Cladonia. At this time of the year I see small balls of the lichen rolling across the hill like tiny tumbleweed blown by the winter winds. #LichenSubscribe #lichen
The grassland fungi Crazed Cap (Dermoloma cuneifolium) found on Castle Hill, NNR, Brighton.
A little brown fungi on top but underneath the gills and stalk have a really silvery sheen to them. #MushroomMonday #fungi
Second survey of the year for the lichen Teloschistes chrysophthalmus, this time on Castle Hill NNR, Brighton, Sussex. They're found on a few Hawthorn trees here.
The photos show how variable the lichen can be. In the top 2 photos the lichen has few apothecia (spore-producing fruits) and a lot of spiky edges called spinules, which make it look like a small fluffy ball from a distance. The bottom photos show the more commonly found bright orange fruits. #LichenSubscribe #lichen #fungi
A few Devil's-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis) left on the South Downs in Sussex this week.
Although battered by wind and rain, their colour is still stunning. #wildflowerhour #wildflowers
