Another find along the old railway, a yellowy grey or pale grey-green lichen with a cracked crust and studded with black spots. This lichen has distinctive black apothicia (the part that contains the spores) forms a mosaic on mature trees, appearing on smooth barked trees and fences, this one was spotted on Common Ash. As organisms without roots, lichens obtain their nutrients from the atmosphere and so are highly susceptible to changes in atmospheric chemistry. Areas with less pollution have more diverse and abundant lichens.
By River Six Photo by River
