When the sun is shining, this lichen catches the light and looks like it is shining too, thanks to its upper surface being a brilliant shade of yellow or orange. Most lichens are intolerant of high pollution levels, this beauty is an exception. This lichen is often associated with high levels of nitrogen and so can commonly be found close to farmland and livestock. It is also something of a globetrotter, being found throughout Britain and most of Europe, in North America, Africa and Asia, as well as in Australia. Working from the fantastic belief that a plant could treat a disease it most looked like, medieval herbalists used Sunburst Lichen to treat jaundice because of its yellow colour.
By River Six
