Lichens in the graveyard of St John the Baptist's Church, Clayton, West Sussex. 13.01.23

Possibly Melanelixia subaurifera

On a grave stone.

Collema tenax 

Found on the mortar of the church wall

Growth type foliose.

Dark greenish-black thallus, very swollen when wet. The crowded jelly-like lobes are often hidden by the abundant reddish-brown apothecia. Isidia usually absent. Frequent and very variable.

C. tenax var. ceranoides, rarely fertile, narrow ascending lobes,
C. tenax var. vulgare usually very fertile with plumper lobes than C. tenax var. tenax.
Collema tenax var. corallinum i +/- crustose, the apothecia disc surrounded by coralloid crown.

Common on mortar in walls, basic soils, sand and clay.
Chemical reactions negative. Irish Lichens

In association with Grimmia pulvinata, Grey-cushioned moss

Probably Cladonia fimbriata

On the roof (tile and mortar) of the church's porch (15th century)

General Description

A neat Pyxie Cup with golf tee shaped podetia with fine green soredia and a white medulla when exposed. Very common but portably a bit over recorded in very acid habitats for C. cryptochlorophaea with slender podetia. The latter has a KC+ wine red (fleeting) spot test, is less finely sorediate and the exposed medulla often has a pinkish-brown tinge.

Identification

Podetia 0.5–1.5 cm tall, greyish to (rarely) brownish green; cups to 0.5 cm diam., margins ± regular, sometimes dentate, not proliferating, abruptly joined to a long stalk and appearing ± goblet-shaped, farinose-sorediate throughout, including the base and within cups. Basal squamules numerous but often rather small and inconspicuous, ± elongate and often incised. Apothecia and pycnidia brown, infrequent, on cup margins; apothecia sessile or shortly stalked. Thallus C–, K–, KC–, Pd+ orange-red, UV– (fumarprotocetraric acid).

Probably closely related to Cladonia chlorophaea. Characterised by the abruptly expanded regular goblet-shaped scyphi, the absence of cortication and entirely farinose-sorediate podetia. C. chlorophaea has more gradually tapering scyphi, and corticate or ± non- corticate podetia with coarsely granular soredia. A morph of C. cryptochlorophaea with slender podetia is frequent on acid bark and is often mistaken for C. fimbriata, but is KC+ wine red (fleeting). See also C. carneola (yellow-green podetia) and C. humilis (K+ yellow).

Habitats

Often associated with mosses on recently disturbed sites, on rotten wood, in gardens and on old walls, occasionally in heathlands and dunes, absent from damp montane areas. British Lichen Society