ASCOMYCOTA | LECANOROMYCETES > LECANORALES > Cladoniaceae

Common name:             Heath Thorn Cladonia            

Synonyms:                     -

Habitat:                           Heathland, moors, bogs

Substrata:                       Dry or damp acid soil

Growth forms:               Terricolous

Basal thallus:                  Squamulose, absent or fast disappearing

Secondary thallus:         Podetia, pointed

Apothecia:                     Rare

BLS identity rating:        Graded 3/5 (close inspection required to verify this form)

Basal squamules absent or fast disappearing.

Podetia typically around 50mm tall; forming loose mats of spiky-looking tufts, sometimes spreading and intermingling with adjacent low vegetation or other lichen species; stems around 2-3mm dia., hollow and thin-walled, somewhat inflated; sparsely branched, divergent, widening at the axils, which are mostly perforate.

This variety is typically neater and more compact than the previously described form ssp.biuncialis, with the stems appearing crowded rather than entangled. And, from what I've seen if this is indeed the rarer form, it doesn't appear as brittle. Importantly though, it is predominantly tri- (three), tetra- (four) or polychotomously (multi) branched giving the apices of the podetia a distinctive star-like appearance; surface of central canal not powdery like ssp.biuncialis;

The colour is greyish-green with a marbled surface, then brownish towards the pointed apices.

Apothecia are still rare, but are more frequent than in the common form; where present, brown, terminal and tiny.

As noted, this seems to be a much rarer form of the species. It's principally found in East Scotland and only has a few confirmed scattered records from elsewhere in Britain, and none from Dorset. Nevertheless, I'm pretty sure I've found both varieties on my local heath, the common form ssp.biuncialis in drier areas, and this form ssp.uncialis close to a boardwalk in a much wetter part of the reserve.

Footnote: after subsequently finding a particularly nice, multi-branched, compact stand of the common form in the New Forest (see previous page), I'm now starting to seriously doubt that the specimen featured here is correct! In fact, I think I may have misunderstood the description and that the branching is literally referring to the apices; the very tips of the podetia. But, even if it is, there are some here that, when magnified, look very 'crown-like' with up to five points.