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Scrambled Egg Lichen

Fulgensia fulgens

Scrambled Egg Lichen

This rare lichen is not just striking, but also a crucial part of the biological soil crust community which stabilises soils and facilitates the growth of other plants. It also hosts a globally rare fungus Lichenochora epifulgens which is even rarer than the Scrambled Egg lichen itself.

Where it grows

It grows on open short calcareous grasslands and dunes. It needs an open, well-lit, free draining substrate such as limestone, chalk or sand made from shells, with a high pH. Most often it grows over mosses or sometime directly on rock, at coastal sites in the south and west of Britain.

How to spot

As the name suggests, it really does look like a scrambled egg. It has a crust-like yellow body which is often paler in the middle with scattered orange fruits of 1.5mm.

Dave Lamacraft translocating Scrambled Egg Lichen in Norfolk

Did you know?

It is historically rare in Britain and had gone extinct in the east of England due to habitat loss as a result of changes in farming practices, an increase in tree cover and a loss of rabbits.

We are working to bring it back to the Breckland through a process known as translocation. Read how expert Dave Lamacraft translocated the Scrambled Egg Lichen, taking it 350 miles, and transplanted it using bookbinding glue!

 

Other species

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Fanfare of Trumpets Lichen

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Shaggy Strap Lichen
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Shaggy Strap Lichen

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