The Bog Mine, Day 2 Morning of the British Lichen Society field meeting in Shropshire

On Wednesday 12 July we meet at The Bog.

Come with us (On the British Lichen Society Summer Field Meeting) to this old mine with a visitor centre near the Stiperstones in Shropshire.  (Background: The Bog Mine and Visitor Centre | Shropshire's Great Outdoors (shropshiresgreatoutdoors.co.uk))

The white lichen on the ground of the car part where we are are assembling is Dibaeis baeomyces (formerly B roseus). Eric and Mary Steer (left) are telling us about all the different habitats we can visit. Alastair looks at his  - Dobson (standard UK text for Lichens)..

Whilst the most important thing is to look at the lichen itself.

Raymond and Sue settle down to examine some Cetraria muricata growing on open ground amongst heather (with some Cladonia impexa just behind)

Cetraria muricata  has little spinules that point slightly forwards and have round branches  (Compared with Cetraria aculeata which also grows here which has spinules that stick out at 90 degrees and has wider flattened, even furrowed branches. 

Stereocaulon dactylyphyllum

Stereocaulon dactylyphyllum

There are unknown Cladonias. Any suggestions?  I give up.. and

I go across to the Information Centre / Tea room - an old school and buy a drinking chocolate.  In the yard outside there is an interesting sign -  not just because it explains the geology - ....

 

but   ........

but because it is framed by this beautiful lichen - Buellia aethelia

It is fascinating to see how the formation of the Buellia aethelia lichen changes as it grows across two different substrata. Look at the fimbriate prothallus

I reurn to the mine. Whilst we are examining lichens on the a lady turns up who is working to protect rare Graying butterflies. She had initially though we were looking for them. The remains of the mine is a good area as they like open areas and  little clumps of grass such as Sheep's fescue. In fact it is the best inland site for these declining butterflies.   We are happy because they like the same habitat that is good for lichens.  

It is rather too cloudy and windy for Graylings today but later Steve spies one

Two useful links:

Come butterfly spotting when the grayling butterflies are in flight | Shropshire's Great Outdoors (shropshiresgreatoutdoors.co.uk)

Grayling | Butterfly Conservation (butterfly-conservation.org)

I wander down to  the Tailings area. 

 There are supposed to be special Stereocaulons here but I am maybe in the wrong part.  The mud is quite damp here

Something is living down these holes.  It does not come up in spite of me (gently) poking a grass stem down.

This is a close up (1cm across picture)  of some moist lichen clumps on the ground here.. covered in alga. I suppose the lichen actually grew before the algae (now deadish)- which grew before the drought last month and died but have just been rewetted..

I meet David Hill who shows me this Lecanora that he had been looking for ..  need to get the species name...   See next

I wonder if it is L handelii -- greenish with soralia at the margins (not in the centre as in L soralifera)  This lichen likes to grow on metal polluted rock spoil.

(I was shown this nine years ago by Allan Pentecost at Ingleton - go to end Ingleton post  I see that post also has picture of Acarospora smaragdua that we saw yesterday).

Time is moving on

We rendezvous at our original location for lunch, go down to the Tearoom and then set off for the afternoon location all of 1/2mile away - the  Nipstone - a Quartzite outcrop - an extension of the Stiperstones - but that is for the  next - the afternoon's post.