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Oak Moss Lichen

Evernia prunastri

with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers
  • Grows in short tufts (to 10 cm) of flattened branches with forked tips, often with a net-like pattern of ridges visible on the surface.
  • Pale grey-green to pale yellow-green on the upper side and whitish underneath. This can be harder to see if the lichen has spent some time on the ground or in older specimens. This colour difference is due to Evernia technically being a foliose lichen, as its internal structure means it just has a single layer of algal cells beneath the upper cortex.
  • Patches of grainy soredia may be present on the edges of branches and ridges, becoming more extensive over time. Apothecia (fruiting bodies) are very rare.

Habitat

It prefers well-lit conditions, so is often present in the canopy and on lower branches in well-lit situations.

Similar species

Could be confused with Ramalina farinacea (below) which has narrower, more straggly branches, and lacks the pale underside. E. prunastri  also lacks the oval soralia on the edges of the lobes, which is a distinctive feature of R. farinacea.

Other lichens with strap-like branches that are likely to be encountered in the rainforest, such as Ramalina calicaris, R. fastigiata, and R. fraxinea, commonly have rounded apothecia on their branches which are extremely rare in E. prunastri.

Distribution 

Widespread and common across the whole British Isles

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy strap lichen
Shaggy Strap Lichen

Shaggy strap lichen

Ramalina farinacea

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

A very common fruticose lichen on trees, which is easy for beginners to recognise.

  • Grey-green irregularly shaped and flattened branches, often wrinkled. 
  • Branches end with round and flattened fruits (apothecia). 

As its evocative English name suggests, this lichen is relatively easy to spot once you have seen its ‘trumpets’. These are the apothecia (fruiting bodies) that stand out at the tips of many of the branches. They vary in size, but collectively make a visual impact. 

Distribution

Widespread and common across the British Isles with concentrations in southern England and coastal areas. 

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Smoky Spindles
Smoky Spindles

Smoky Spindles

Hygrocybe pratensis

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy Strap Lichen

Ramalina farinacea

Shaggy Strap Lichen
  • Grows in pale grey-green to yellow-green tufts, with flattened, straggly and forked branches (up to 10cm).  
  • Soredia in discrete oval soralia along branch margins. This is clear with a hand lens, but possible to see without. Apothecia (fruiting bodies) are rare. 
  • Both sides of the branches have the same colouring (and it does not have a white underside). 

Habitat

One of the most common fruticose species on trees with acidic bark such as alder, birch and oak. It is fairly pollution tolerant.

Similar species

Could be confused with Evernia prunastri but that lacks the oval soralia on the edges of the branches and has distinctly paler undersides to the branches.  When first becoming familiar with lichens you may also confuse R. fastigiata for an Usnea species as first glance, but if you look carefully you will notice that R. farinacea has flattened branches rather than cylindrical branches.  

Similar to other Ramalina species such as R. calicaris, R. fastigiata, and R. fraxinea, but they have rounded apothecia (fruiting bodies) and they lack the oval soralia. 

Distribution

Widespread and common across the whole British Isles. 

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Smoky Spindles
Smoky Spindles

Smoky Spindles

Hygrocybe pratensis

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

String-of-sausages Lichen

Usnea articulata 

  • Grey-green tassels of up to 1 m hanging down or draped across the substrate but rarely anchored to it.  
  • Main stems have inflated sections which are pinched at intervals, and so resemble a string of sausages. This is a key feature to look for as there are other pendulous Usnea species but none have this characteristic.

Habitat

It is most common in the south west’s temperate rainforest zone. 

Favouring well-lit conditions and dry, open situations, it is most often found in tree canopies or on lower branches where trees are well-lit, in woodland or on scattered trees in open moorland. You can also find it on the ground after stormy weather. 

Similar species

Other large, bearded lichens include Usnea ceratina, Usnea dasopoga and Usnea hirta but these lack the sausage-like lobes. 

Did you know

  • It is a Section 41 species which means that it is considered of “principal importance for the conservation of biodiversity in England” under Section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (2006).
  • A clean air indicator, rare outside of south-west England’s rainforest zone. Highly sensitive to sulphur dioxide pollution, it was once much more widespread in Britain but now appears to be making a comeback, perhaps due to improved air quality and a warming climate. 

Distribution 

Largely restricted to south-western parts of the UK with most records in south-west England. 

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Smoky Spindles
Smoky Spindles

Smoky Spindles

Hygrocybe pratensis

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Olive Earthtongue

Microglossum olivaceum

Months

Season

Habitat

Reddish tongue like fungus emerging from grassland

How to identify

Fruiting bodyLike dark reddish, brown or olive green coloured clubs, or tongues, emerging from the soil
Fruiting body sizeUp to 7cm in height
StemUsually with shades of olive-green
SporesWhite

Where to find them?

Rare but when found usually on unimproved grassland, often mossy between late summer and autumn. 

Did you know?

The latin name for Olive Earthtongues is Microglossum Olivaceum. Microglossum means small tongue, while  olivaceum refers to the hint of olive to most of the fruitbodies (but note that the colour is very variable with some being much browner than others). 

 

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy strap lichen
Shaggy Strap Lichen

Shaggy strap lichen

Ramalina farinacea

Hart’s-tongue Fern

Asplenium scolopendrium

Months

Season

Colour

This evergreen plant has long, tongue shaped leaves with a pointy end.

Distribution

Widespread across Britain, except in the far north.

Habitat

Can be found in sheltered moist habitats such as woods, on hedge banks, in walls and in ditches.

Did you know?

  • The underside of the leaves have little marks reminiscent of centipedes legs, leading to the species name ‘scolopendrium’ (the Latin for centipede!)
  • A hart was an old name for a deer, so the plant was so-named as it specifically looks like a deer’s tongue.

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Smoky Spindles
Smoky Spindles

Smoky Spindles

Hygrocybe pratensis

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Ivy

Hedera helix

A evergreen woody climbing wild plant, commonly seen on old walls and tree trunks.

Ivy is often found carpeting the ground or growing up walls and trees.

Its flowers bloom in an umbrella-like spread. In fact the term for such a bloom – an ‘umbel’ – derives from the same source as umbrella – umbra, the Latin word for shade.

It’s leaves are dark green glossy above, paler below. On flowering shoots leaves are pointed oval.

Distribution

Widespread throughout the UK.

Habitat

Woods, hedgerows, rocks and walls. Very commonly found on tree trunks.

Best time to see

Flowers September to November.

Did you know?

  • Ivy is, of course, celebrated with holly in the Christmas Carol of the same name. Its symbolism, however, predates Christianity. As evergreen species both holly and ivy were seen as especially powerful during the leafless days of winter. Sprigs were said to ward off evil spirits and inside the home kept the house goblins at bay. Of the two, ivy – shapely and curvaceous – was said to represent the feminine as compared to the spiky, angular masculinity of holly.
  • Local names include Bentwood, Bindwood, Hibbin, Ivin, Ivery and the enchanting Love-Stone used in Leicestershire.
  • In the Highlands and Islands it has been used as protection, to keep evil away from milk, butter and the animals. Circlets of ivy alone, or ivy plaited with Rowan and honeysuckle were hung over the lintels of byres and put under milk vessels.

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Smoky Spindles
Smoky Spindles

Smoky Spindles

Hygrocybe pratensis

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Parrot waxcap

Gliophorus psittacinus 

Months

Season

Colour

Habitat

A Parrot Waxcap.

How to identify:

CapMainly green with underlying pink or yellow. Conical becoming flattened. Slimy texture. 
Cap Diameter2 – 4 cms 
GillsYellow, sometimes tinged green 
StemYellow-green, greener nearer the top 
FleshVariable, usually matches the cap colour 
SporesWhite

 

Where to find them?

The Parrot Waxcap (Gliophorus psittacinus) can be found in the summer and autumn on roadside verges,  cropped grassland and in churchyards. Appearing on lawns only after years of low-nutrient management.

It favours unimproved acid or neutral grassland, and are most plentiful in western Britain and particularly in Wales. 

Did you know?

There are two Parrot Waxcap species that are recognised: Gliophorus psittacinus and Gliophorus perplexa; the latter was previously considered to be a mere variety. 

 

 

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy strap lichen
Shaggy Strap Lichen

Shaggy strap lichen

Ramalina farinacea