Neil Sanderson

Mianly a test of the new forum, another picture from the New Forest of Palicella filamentosa:

A stacked photo of young Palicella filamentosa apothecia on an old Oak gate post at Islands Thorns Inclosure in the New.

Also from Birch lignum on in an upland pasture woodland, Loch Killin, East Inverness, so from a speciment collected April 2026, so back in Scotland too

A stacked photo of Palicella filamentosa (centre) on Birch lignum, Xylographa parallela below and Lecidea turgidula above, Loch Killin, East Inverness

Neil

Great to see the forum back and well done migrating old the old posts over, along with the pictures, generally looks good. I have tried to post (one new topic and answers to a couple of posts), but nothing has come up yet. Are they stuck in moderation?

Neil

Juliet

I have sympathy with the idea that Polycauliona candelaria and P. ucrainica are the same species; they are certainly not easy to seperate. I would like larger thalli but, as stated, it seems closer to P. ucrainica.

Neil

Found Palicella filamentosa in Hampshire now. It was on lgnum on a standing dead Yew tree in pasture woodland at Gorley Bushes, Fritham in The New Forest.

Got a K/UV(dry)+ bright yellow spot test in the field and the other features martched:

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Field picture on Yew

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Specimen (ruler devisions = 0.5mm

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Apothecium cross section in water in polarised light

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Apothecium cross section in water

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Apothecium cross section in water, squashed a bit to show granules in epithecium

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Spores & paraphyses tips in K

I am fairly sure all my Lecanora aitema records from Hampshire were of this, they were C- and not obviously Lecanora symmicta, but I was a bit worried by the paler disks, just had not checked systematically. Great Kian has got this.

I have produced a species report on the BLS website https://britishlichensociety.org.uk/resources/species-accounts/palicella-filamentosa” class=”bbcode_url”>https://britishlichensociety.org.uk/resources/species-accounts/palicella-filamentosa

Neil

Anthony

These are photos from coastal shingle by the Solent:

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Field picture, flint Warren Shore, Hampshire

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Scan of specimen, flint Warren Shore, Hampshire

I have been identifying it from the thallus composed of rounded granules. Your one is so depurperate I can not realy say any thing about it.

Useful looking at the pictures from that day. This one was labelled Trapelia obtegens & Amandinea lecideina, but the Trapelia obtegens is clearly Rinodina aspersa, which would be the second Hampshire site, an excellent belated find.

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Rinodina aspersa (center) & Amandinea lecideina

All the best

Neil

OK that is strange. There is definitely Chaenotheca trichialis in there, but the majority of the pins look very very like a Sclerophora species. Sclerophora peronella is the one with the smallest spores but these should be 3–3.5 µm diam., which is a bit larger than you give. The translucent stalk should also have a red-brown core visible when wet for this species. Whatever it is, a Sclerophora species would be a major rediscovery/discovery for Yorkshire. Sclerophora species are not parasitic and should have their own thallus with Trentepohlia as the algae. If it is a Sclerophora species, it may just be growing through the Chaenotheca trichialis.

Neil

I collected some fertile Caloplaca alstrupii last week from a known tree. Some pictures:

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Apothecia with a crateriform soralia with green soredia to the right. (A stacked picture, manual focus with stacking using HeliconForcus; my new toy!)

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Apothecium section in water.

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Apothecium squash in K with spores

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Spores in K, quite varied in shape and 9 – 11 x 6 – 8 µm with the septa just about half the length of the spore.

Caloplaca alstrupii is usually sterile but quite common and found on damaged young trees. I think Coppinsiella ulcerosa is actually quite a bit less frequent (but more often fertile) and typically found on older wounded trees.

I have some older Coppinsiella ulcerosa collections, I will have a look at the spores in these tomorrow.

Neil

Lucas

An important record whatever it is!

Paul might be more informed on this, but looking at your data and pictures I would think it is more likely to be Huneckia pollinii. Some of the Italic pictures do show brown caps to the paraphyses, I think, and the spore sizes are closer. The habitat is also a better match; Caloplaca caesiorufella has only been found in very exposed maritime situations on lignum and moss Britain. Is the hymenium inspersed with oil droplets or not, apparently Huneckia pollinii is not and Caloplaca caesiorufella is?

Neil