Hi,
I found this lichen was found on a Birch twig on Iping Common. The tiny apothecia (0.1-0.3mm) range from pink to brown with a bit of a piebald appearance on some. The thallus was cream and varied in thickness, with cracking where it was at its thickest. It had a black prothallus.
The spores are simple with oil globules – two in younger spores, but one large one in the larger mature spores.
Initially I thought that it was Japewiella tavaresiana, but the spores are much too small. The section showed a range of ascus in development and the maximum size range for the spores which had either been released or where very obviously the most mature was 10-12.5 X 3.75 -5 um – nothing above this size range.
So working through the Lecidea key in LGBI3 I came to Lecidea erythrophaea, which has spores in the range (8-)9-14 (-18) x 3-4.5 um.
I also found the thread on here with JennyS’s specimen on a potential J. tavarensiana that also had spores way too small, which seemed very similar and was a possible Lecidea erythrophaea.
Anyway – is this a good candidate for L. erythrophaea? Or is there something else I could consider.
Thank you
Sylvia
