Lichens at Eridge Rocks 14.04.24

This was a very brief visit to Eridge Rocks and represents a very small sample of a much more diverse and abundant lichen flora at Eridge Rocks

I have included English names in this post; these names are rarely used as  they are not vernacular names that have grown up through popular usage but names that have been made up in an attempt to popularize lichen

Farinose Cartilage Lichen Ramalina farinacea

 

Bitter Wart Lichen Lepra amara

Pertusaria pertusa Pepper-Pot lichen

 

 A species of the Graphidaceae family, possibly Graphis scripta, common script lichen

 Pore Lichen Lepra albescens

 

 Finger Cup Lichen Cladonia digitata

Bark Barnacles Thelotrema lepadinum - ancient woodland indicator species 

Inoderma subabietinum - ancient woodland indicator species

 

Bunodophoron melanocarpum - this is a species of Atlantic woodland (temperate rain forest) and is more commonly seen in Snowdonia and NW Scotland. It is seen at Eridge Rocks because the Ardingly sandstone of the ghyll woodland of Eridge Rocks is extremely damp because of springs, resulting in a degree of humidity commensurate with its survival even though Sussex does not have the degree of rainfall that Snowdonia and NW Scotland have

 

 

 

Lichens on three Wild Service Trees, Torminalis glaberrima, in woods north-west of Cow Fold, 16.04.24

I examined three Wild Service Trees near Cowfold. All three had the same lichen community growing on them.

 

 

 

Habitat: Low Weald ancient woodlands on clay. Ancient woodland status suggested through presence of Yellow Archangel, Bluebells, Wood Sedge, Midland Hawthorn, and Wild Service Trees

This map showing the location of these tress is from Dave Bang's The Land of the Brighton Line: A field guide to the Middle Sussex and South East Surrey Weald (2018)

Lichens:

Possibly Buellia griseovirens

Lepra amara Bitter Wart Lichen

Flavoparmelia caperata Common Greenshield Lichen

 Lecidella elaeochroma Lecidella Lichen

Pyrrhospora quernea

 

 Possibly Punctelia jeckeri Powdered Speckled Shield Lichen

 

 Hypotrachyna afrorevoluta

 

Mosses:

Hypnum cupressiforme Cypress-leaved Plait-Moss

 

Liverworts:

Frullania dilatata Dilated Scalewort

 

 Metzgeria furcata Forked Veilwort

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Significant organisms near the tree:

Crataegus laevigata Midland Hawthorn

Hyacinthoides non-scripta Bluebell