While preparing for my lichen ‘walk’ on campus I examined one of the Horse chestnut trees near the pond in the Harris Garden. I’ve used this tree for teaching lichens on the MSc Plant Diversity course for the last three … Continue reading
Whiteknights is an amazing teaching resource. Recently I led a lichen ‘walk’ for the Reading District Natural History Society from the car-park in front of the Harborne Building. I’ve put ‘walk’ in inverted commas because we really didn’t walk very … Continue reading
This gallery contains 20 photos.
To help the new MSc Plant Diversity students settle in, and to provide us with a baseline against which we can tailor our teaching, the annual plant ID quiz is now running. For each of 18 samples the students were … Continue reading
It was shocking pink lipstick in the 1960s. Now shocking pink fungus is appearing on our trees! Illiosporiopsis christiansenii is a bright pink fungus which grows on various lichens that are common in nitrogen-enriched places. Although Whiteknights is not close … Continue reading
A young lime tree in the centre of a patch of grass on the SW side of the University Library is particularly rich in both foliose and fruticose lichens.
Nitrogen loving (nitrophilous) lichens grow well in situations where there are relatively high levels of nitrogen compounds. Large quantities of nitrogen compounds enter our atmosphere from vehicle exhaust, through artificial agricultural fertiliser input (and subsequent decay into air bore pollutants) … Continue reading
Lichens are an abundant and very diverse group, with the BLS estimating that there are over 2000 species in the UK, with many new species and morphs being found, and added to the list each year! Across the globe there … Continue reading
