SD86 - 14 - SD8164 - Four white crustose lichens on sandstone capstone - Settle Swimming Poll wall

Three mystery mystery lichens and Ochrolechia parella

SD81556413

 Four white lichens on the sandstone walltop: Can you help?

Name                                     K reaction                C reaction   

Lichen1           K   yellow then in 20sec red       C -                no significant prothallus

Lichen2                                    K -                      C  dark orange, then fades
                         (pale yellow green ?soralia)

Lichen3                                    K -                      C   -   
             (thick thallus, lumpy, greenish, striate near edge, fimbriate at edge, pretty ) 

Lichen4=Ochrolechia parella   K  -                    C  discs of apothecia go pink-orange

Same table but with thumbnail pictures

Name                                     K reaction                C reaction   

Lichen1           K   yellow then in 20sec red           C -                no significant prothallus

Top half is Lichen1 Bottom half: Ochrolechia parella

Lichen2                                    K -                     C  dark orange, then fades 

                         (pale yellow green ?soralia) -It is the lichen at the top right:

Applying bleach with my
Rotring Isograph pen to a disc
of Ochrolechia parella. (Lichen 4)
It i the Big lichen with yellow tinge
in the right that is lichen 2 

Lichen3        K -  C   -     (thick thallus, lumpy, greenish, striate near edge, fimbriate at edge, pretty ) 

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On the capstones of the wall by the main road at Settle Swimming Pool leading to the bridge over the Ribble,  opposite the entrance to Settle College, are some big patches of Ochrolechia_parella - Crabs-eye lichen.

I set off to photograph it - as an addition to my collection of pictures of "Lichens in well known places around Settle".  

I had just transferred my little bottles of KOH (Alkali) and C (Bleach) into a much smaller container box, making them much more portable, so took them out with me. they worked, but left some big blobs of chemical.  

I returned after two days with newly acquired Rotring Isograph pens filled with alkali and bleach.

Lichens on the wall top - between the green mug on the pavement and the red bag

At the wall I discovered there were THREE other types of whitish crustose lichens on the sandstone capstones, not just Ochrolechia. The moist weather earlier in the day had allowed them to swell and show their subtle colours not obvious when they are dry and white.

Can you help me with them? 

I am getting very much more self disciplined and put the K on the left and the C on the right. 

I appreciate the blobs are FAR bigger than they ought to be, causing the death of those bits of the lichens, especially if the "blob" "runs". I will try and make them smaller next time... you will see I succeed in this as you read through the post

So what white crustose lichen on sandstone causes KOH to trun yellow then immediately red?

Now I know Pertusaria pseudocorallina (on rocks) and Pertusaria coccodes (on trees) - turn yellow then red with KOH but both of these have a thicker thallus and isidia. Someone suggested Phlyctis argena  but I thought that grows on trees.  (Though this wall is under trees)

1.

Picture 1-Top half Lichen1   - K on left, bleach on right       

                        Bottom half: Ochrolechia parella

2

Picture 2-       Top half Lichen1
Bottom half: Ochrolechia parella
Left spots KOH, right spots C

Below: Just two apothecia of Ochrolechia parella dabbed carefully with my "Bleach" pen.  Close up

Lichen 1 continued.

I was at the bridge over the railway at Stainforth, - capstones again sandstone- and found some more thin white crust that turned red. 

Yes they do look a little snail grazed.   

END OF Lichen 1

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Back at Giggleswick Settle Swimming Pool:

LICHEN 2: in the centre, (Lichen 3 - to come -on the right)

Lichen2 has a thicker thallus that is a creamy shade rather than white. 

It went dark orange red with bleach but then quickly faded.

Lichen2- C red, on the left          Lichen3 K- C- on the right

 
I went back on Thursday 26, with my new pens, and when the (setting) sun was out and had dried up the lichens a little.
I found just two patches of this Lichen 2. Both had a yellow powder film over much of them - easier to photograph with the sun causing slight shadows, rather than the LED ring filter which did not give shadows.

Unfortunately I had filled my alakli pen with NaOH instead of KOH (I couldn't find my KOH pellets) and it should have worked the same . However the dots from the NaOH did actually go a bit red  whereas there had been no reaction with KOH - see below - right blobs C, left tiny blobs NaOH

 

 

Below: Applying C to the Ochrolechia using the new Rotring Isograph pen  (But see Lichen 2 at the top right )

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END OF LICHEN 2

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Lichen 3   K- C- 

The third lichen did not react with K or C. But it made nice patterns on the wall top.

Lichen 3: no reaction with K or C

 

Or are you going to say -"They are all too slug eaten to say anything?

Waiting in anticipation.