Settle Easter Morning 2016

( See Settle Passion Play  two days earlier on 25 March )

Settle Passion Play 2016

Settle Passion Play-Good Friday - 25 March 2016

(Pictures by  J Allinson)

(Click here to see the dawn service on Easter Day, two days later)

Click here to see the dawn service on Easter Day, two days later.

Lepraria incana - Dust Lichen

 Learn your Lichens 8

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

The word "Dust" is useful for describing the genus Lepraria. The lichens have no structure and a closer close up reveals... Dust.
Well, fluffy granules.

Leparia means "Scurvy"
incana means "White, hoary"

Our Townhead area of Settle gave yet another lichen to this website series.. On Wednesday Ilona Warham said "Come and see this lichen - it grows in deep shade in crevices in our garden wall - yet it can look ever so bright"

It can sometimes be seen in the distance growing in big very pale blue green -white patches patches on the shady side on mossy tree trunks...  I need to find some pics near Settle..

I took a photo of the  south west facing wall at the edge of their garden. It was built into the hillside 30 or 40 years ago - so the lichens must have grown since then. Ignore Arrows 3, and 4 - Concentrate on the ledge just below arrow 1

The Lepraria incana has been increasing on this wall over the past few years, I was told. 

The Lepraria is bluish greyish green and is growing on the moss and in the crevices

Arrow 2 points to this crevice

When I put my camera close and used the flash you can see there is lots of Lepraria inside.

Lepraria incana in white under UV light.

It is very tolerant to sulphur dioxide pollution.

I first learnt about Lepraria incana when teaching at Malham Tarn in 1979 . The frame of the old coalhouse door at the Field Centre is made of sandstone, whereas the rest of the wall is Limestone. Oliver Gilbert describes it in his paper in 1963 on Malham Tarn House.

The pale powdery Lepraria grows on the sandstone, whereas the bright orange alga Trentepohlia grows on the limestone -- but there is overlap. Click on the article from the paper about Malham Tarn House - Its architecture and lichens by Raistrick and Gilbert in 1963

The wall faces north so is shaded all day, and it is the coal house so the wall is not heated by the building.

We are looking at the wall near the coalhouse in this picture here - the coal house is just off to the right, but you can see a white patch on the gatepost  wall which is Lepraria. (I think - need to go up and double check) - Then I'll photo the "coal house door" too. It looks fairly similar, thoough the wall was drastically repaired/repointed/plants removed 10-20 years ago.

Other plants with the name incana:

Alnus incana - grey alder
Matthiola incana - Hoary stock
Draba incana - Hoary Whitlowgrass or Twisted Whitlowgrass - a rare white crucifer that is found in our area (limestone/mountains)

Beginners Workshop: Top Twenty Lichens of Horton in Ribblesdale Churchyard

Here is the report of the beginners workshop held on 2 April.. (The advert is lower down)

The forecast said rain but sort of clearing up. Only it didn't clear up.

I had four takers for the workshop. A big thank you to Melanie, Sue, Pauline and Penny for coming.

And a thank you to the church people for letting us use the church.

We set ourselves up at the back of the church round a table which worked well.

We went outside and as a short "pre-introduction" found examples of Leprose (Dusty) Crustose (Crusty) and Foliose (Leafy.. Lusty?) Lichens -  (Lepraria incana - in the shelter and still looking like dust) Lepraria nivalis- though rather soggy  - as Leprose;  Rhizocarpon geographicum as Crustose and Parmelia saxatilis as Foliose.






We came in and had cups of tea and biscuits (thanks Pauline).  We looked at examples of lichens I had brought in with me and talked about the structure of lichens. A visiting cyclist took a photo of us.
See we are happy.

Then we went for a walk round the churchyard using the lichens trail. Still lightly raining. But better for looking at lichens than glaring sunlight or snow or frost.

After the Nostoc (Spittle of the Moon) and Collema (Black Jelly-Lichen) we came back inside, had coffee, did star jumps, and settled down to looking at structure in more detail.

At 12.30 we went outside and concluded the trail, finishing at the overhanging ash tree with its Xanthoria parietina and Parmeina pastillifera,   and then seeing some Protoblastenia rupestris at the porch entrance, next to the Caloplaca flavescens.

On the way back to Settle we made a slight detour towards Wharf to see  Rhizocarpon geographicum in situ.

Lower on the wall was some Porpidia macrocarpa.

Porpidia macrocarpa

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All welcome at the Beginners Lichens workshop 2 April: Horton in Ribblesdale. 10am-12.30pm
For details and to book contact  Judith Allinson - Cost: £15 (Children £3.00) - Concessions available.

Learn a little about this fascinating topic - then amaze your friends!

We will spend a period indoors learning about the structure of lichens, have a cup of tea, and then have a walk around the churchyard. We will use the "Guide to the Top Twenty Lichens in Horton churchyard" prepared by Judith, and participants will keep a copy of the guide. Hand lenses will be provided. Please bring warm clothes at this time of year.

People who have attended on previous years will be encouraged to test out the draft 2016 leaflet: The next top twenty lichens: (i.e. Lichens 21 to 40) ...

Here are the Display boards I prepared for the  2015 Event

If you would
Your life enrichen,
Then study Lichen

If you prefer
Hikin' and bikin,
Then study Lichen

Both pronunciations are correct - but most people say the latter - liken.

Here's Horton in Ribblesdale churchyard, on a sunny day..

Lichen number 1 is on the porch wall. 

Can you see it here? The bright orange one.
I decided to call it "Limestone orange lichen"
 in the absence of any other English name

in

Its Latin name is Caloplaca flavescens.
It is a crustose lichen. The edge of the lichen has narrow, pleated lobes
and this feature is referred to as "placodioid". (Click on the picture to see a larger picture

You'll recognise it again at the stile at the east.

These pictures were taken at a similar event at Horton in autumn 2014

Here we are looking at the boundary wall in the north.
You can see we are holding the
"Guide to the Top Twenty lichens of Horton churchyard"
 that I had prepared

The display 

I am happy to organise Beginners Lichens workshops at Ingleton and Grinton Churchyards and 

Beginners Mosses Workshops at Ingleton, Giggleswick and Chapel le Dale if a group would like to "book" me.

See more posts on Lichens  on this website here

Sat 27 Feb: Community Groups Showcase Open Day at St John's Church, Settle, BD24 (JH

Welcome to our Community Groups Showcase Open Day at St John's Church Hall Settle 

on Sat 27 February: 10am-4pm: Bacon butties, coffee, 12 groups performing or giving demonstrations; Children's activities (Messy Church) - and a variety of stalls..

Here is the programme -  I hope you can call in during the day

I will be selling the Rainforest Cards.

It would be nice to sell 100 cards and thus save 1 acre of Rainforest!

But I won't get too excited.. I suspect I will be too busy visiting other stalls, and helping other groups.. and Scottish dancing at 12.30. to be at the Rainforest Fund card stall all day.

On Sunday there is a special service to celebrate the completion of our new Worship Room / church.

See also http://www.settle-methodists.org.uk

If you live near Settle DO come!!!

Physcia tenella - Fringed Rosette Lichen

 Learn your lichens 7.

The Physcia is the teeny weeny grey foliose lichen covering the trunk in the bottom two thirds of the picture on the left. (The large grey foliose lichen is a Parmelia (saxatile or sulcata) - I'll write about that another day)

You are probably more likely to find Physcia on a tree in Settle than any other species of lichen.  If you can see a big yellow Xanthoria have a look nearby for Physcia.  Tenella means delicate.

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

The ruler on the left shows centimetres
divided into millimetres. Look more closely..

This one is fruiting. You can see the black discs. 

This species of Physcia has cilia ("hair-like projections"), sometimes with black tips growing from the undersurface.

I photographed this through my hand-lens. See the cilia
The thallus has gone pinkish because it is infected by a fungus

The top picture is of Physcia tenella on this Mountain Ash at Langcliffe, but there are at least 12 other species of (mostly bigger) lichens on it too - a fantastic tree.
....and five mosses
.... and two liverworts.

I photographed the other pictures on the nearest tree here in Malham YDNP car park several years ago, ready for my Algae and Lichens of Malhamdale walk.

  

The tips of the thallus are curled up at the top right of the picture and the under-surface of the tips are covered with powdery soredia. You can see the cilia clearly here.  this picture was taken on an oak branch in Grinton churchyard

Lichens at Wallington House in Northumberland with BLS

Sunday 17th Jan was sunny and cold.
After my dawn walk over the Tyne, I had breakfast at the Euro Hostel and then drove c 20 miles NW of Newcastle to Wallington. I parked in an open car park facing the sun. About 25 people eventually arrived.

Janet Simkin our leader and organiser introduced us to Paul? (Red jacket and dog) from the National Trust. He told us it was one of the top 25 most visited properties of the National Trust, and the agricultural estate was 30 sq miles.

 I set off with Allan Pentecost towards the walled garden but before we reached the road we came across some box trees.

On the  box branches we searched for a special rare lichen called Fellhanera bouteillei which we failed to find. But Hey ho - I shall always look out for it on box now.

There was lots of green "grot" alga - Apatococcus lobatus - which is a bit like Desmococcus  (I found Apatococcus on a tree in Coventry.. but it is probably the green grot you see in lots of places)

Then on the leaves there was a special alga called Phycopeltis foliosus. This forms orbicular orange brown patches on evergreen leaves. The filaments are closely packed together and radiate outwards and the plants resemble small upturned mushroom caps. The species are common in the tropics but rare elsewhere. Link

Phycopeltis foliosus

In the walled garden at the top there was a spring/trough which had overflowed
- maybe in the recent floods - there were lots of pea mussels.

Lecidella stigmatea on vertical wall at top of walled garden

Lecidella stigmatea on vertical wall at top of walled garden

Belonia nidarosiensis (Clathroporina calcarea): Thallus a powdery crust orange to red flecked with white.  found on vertical shaded north and east limestone and mortar walls. Some jagged angles at edge of thallus.

Gyalecta jenensis- these are only 1 mm across.

Fairy Foxglove - Erinus- on SW facing wall of walled garden - white stuff includes Diplotomma albo-atrum

Diplotomma albo-atrum

See the yellow patch on the brick wall..

It is Caloplaca citrinum

Tephromela atra or possibly Lecanora ganagleioides on the wall

This is an Opegrapha that Allan took home

Physconia sp.

Physconia sp.

Melanelia..? growing with Parmelia sulata

The Thelotrema lapida growing into the Pertusaria pertusa makes a splendid photo.

Beech tree with Pertusaria pertusa by the lake

Young Pertusaria pertusa on branch of young shrub - growing with concentric rings.

Then we came back onto the lawn at the main house
where people were looking at two lichenocolous fungi

Marchandiomyces-aurantiacus

Marchandiomyces-aurantiacus: This is peach coloured

On a horsechestnut tree nearby was a flourescent ink fungus- Illiosporiopsis christiansenii

Illiosporiopsis christiansenii

Illiosporiopsis christiansenii

The grey lichen on the right with cone shaped pycnidia with whitish tips is
Lecanactis abietina.
The yellowy orangy streak down the centre with black pinheads on stalks is Chaenotheca ferruginea

Chaenotheca ferruginea

Peltigera membranacea - there is whitish felt /powder on the edge of the thallus

Add caption

Sarea resinae - Resin Fungus

Arthonia spadicea - tar spot lichen

A fungus