Porpidia tuberculosa - Cigarette Ash Lichen

 Learn your Lichens 9 

Learn your Lichens Series 1. Arthonia radiata 2. Caloplaca flavovirescens 3. Acrocordia conoidea 4. Squamarina cartilaginea 5. Xanthoria parietina 6. Lecanora gangaleoides 7. Physcia tenella 8. Lepraria incana 9. Porpidia tuberculosa 10. Psilolechia lucida 11. Lecanora soralifera  12. Opegrapha gyrocarpa

Porpidia tuberculosa can form big grey (white-to pale blue grey) patches on acid rocks in church yards. Looking closely with a hand lens there are dark blue-grey almost silvery soredia. The edge of the thallus (the prothallus) is dark.

Here is is in Settle churchyard.

I spent hours going back to this tombstone hoping to photograph it in the sunlight.. but the trees to the south shaded it until the sun finally set behind the railway viaduct.




The tombstone 3 (actually 4)  along to the left has Porpidia tuberculosa too too.

Here it is in Ingleton, St Mary's Church 
Round the back of the church is a big colony on the church wall

 Could this be Porpidia tuberculosa? seems a very big patch. - below same species close up.

Learn your Lichens Series 1. Arthonia radiata 2. Caloplaca flavovirescens 3. Acrocordia conoidea 4. Squamarina cartilaginea 5. Xanthoria parietina 6. Lecanora gangaleoides 7. Physcia tenella 8. Lepraria incana 9. Porpidia tuberculosa 10. Psilolechia lucida 11. Lecanora soralifera  12. Opegrapha gyrocarpa