A bit more from the A9

In the last post, I went to look for what was flowering along the A9, but much to my surprise I found that there were some unexpected lichens as well. Because the new part of the A9 near the Wildlife park has been built through woodland, there are still some older trees.  There was a group of old aspens that I looked at.

Aspens by the A9

The ecological survey before building the road must have checked these trees as two of them had a metal disc with a number attached - presumably to protect them from workmen with a chainsaw!

There were woodland plants like Wood Anemone and Common Dog Violet in the grass, but I wanted to see what lichens there were.  On a fallen log was a lichen I had never seen before.

It looked like a series of dark brown lobes (leaves) with some lighter brown structures that look a bit like fingernails  (they are apothecia - the spore producing parts).  Looking more closely, there were lots of little peglike growths as well (they are called isidia and are another way a lichen can spread).

"Fingernails" (out of focus) and the tiny pegs (isidia)

The lichen turned out to be Peltigera praetextata and it was growing on the trunk of a live tree as well.

I had never seen that Peltigera before, but there is a common one that grows in lawns, or on grassy or mossy surfaces:

Peltigera membranacea

It will prefer lawns that don't receive too much care in the form of weedkillers and fertilisers.  A benefit of a bit of neglect! As it is No Mow May again,  I am hoping some wildflowers will appear in my lawn soon. The lawn a few doors down from me has a nice show of Slender Speedwell (Veronica filiformis.)

For more on Speedwells check this post. 

The common name for the Peltigera group is Dog lichen. They have little projections underneath that look like dog's teeth so in the past they thought it would cure rabies.