Scottish Lichens
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petravergunst.bsky.social
Scottish Lichens
@petravergunst.bsky.social
Lichens and bryophytes and their ecology. Distance learning courses, guided walks, talks, writing, surveys, consultancy.

https://scottishlichens.co.uk/
https://scottishlichens.co.uk/distance-learning-courses/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/746046762602
#Mosses along farmland tracks near Aberdeen. Barbula convoluta, Bryum argenteum, Syntrichia ruralis and Didymodon fallax. Their colours and shapes are amazing.

#scottishbryophytes #scottishlichens #noticing #biodiversity
November 21, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Come autumn, come #bryophytes. Climacium dendroides on the shore of Loch of Lintrathen. #scottishwildlifetrust #scottishlichens #scottishbryophytes #riverwoods #biodiversity #noticing
November 17, 2025 at 3:23 PM
I've been following #CemeteryWildlifeWatch for years and even though I have been recording lichens and mosses in churchyards I would never find any ladybirds. @persmiseth.bsky.social suggested to look under under overhangs and I found these two in my local graveyard. #scottishlichens #biodiversity
February 25, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Metzgeria fruticulosa on a beech nearby. Note the gemmae at the leaf tips. This #liverwort seems to spread into NE Scotland as I am finding it more and more. #scottishlichens #scottishbryophytes #biodiversity #epiphytes #noticing
February 24, 2025 at 6:01 PM
The #liverwort Metzgeria furcata on a tree near Banchory. Abundant male reproductive feature (the globose features on the lobes) that I never noticed before. Have the environmental conditions changed and are new genetic makeups required? #scottishlichens #scottishbryophytes #biodiversity #epiphytes
February 24, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Lochside trees at Loch Insh NNR. Intrigued by hawthorn scrub in which the branches are a cloud of #lichens, while the trunks have a thick cover of #bryophytes. The loch provides humidity, with the trunks being most humid and the domain of mosses. #scottishlichens #riverwoods #lichenGBI #biodiversity
February 20, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Creag Meagaidh NNR, Scottish Highlands. Alnus glutinosa - Fraxinus excelsior - Lysimachia nemorum alderwood. Both the burn and the root nodules of #alder generate a degree of natural eutrophication that is reflected in the #bryophyte flora. #scottishlichens #riverwoods #biodiversity #bryophytes
February 19, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Within birch and pine woodland, aspen provides welcome #lichen diversity as its bark is basic rather than acidic. Ramalina species are common, but there was also some nice Physconia and a crustose Lecanora species covered in the black dots of a lichenicolous lichen. #scottishlichens #lichenGBI
February 10, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Pinhead #lichens on a conifer snag in Maryculter Woods - most likely Chaenotheca brunneola (pale) and Calicium viride (greenish). These tend to be dead wood specialists that are more commonly found in central and eastern Scotland. #scottishlichens #lichenGBI #deadwood #biodiversity
January 30, 2025 at 10:47 AM
The Cetraria sepincola in Maryculter Woods is still hanging on. Quite literally, as this #lichen species prefers to grow on the most brittle of birch twigs that often snap when you try to have a look at it. Not finding the species that often. #scottishlichens #lichenGBI #biodiversity
January 28, 2025 at 4:58 PM
The rock marking the boundary of the #Cairngorms close to Dinnet sums up the geological and lichen story of upper Deeside pretty well as it contain indicators of upland conditions, acidic and metal-rich rock, and nutrient-rich conditions. #scottishlichens #lichensGBI #lichens #biodiversity #geology
January 27, 2025 at 6:00 PM
In several parts of Muir of Dinnet NNR there are areas with aspen and each of these has less common lichen and bryophyte species on them. Last year Oliver Moore found the very rare Nyholmiella gymnostoma on one of these aspen. #scottishlichens #scottishbryophytes #mosses #lichens #biodiversity
January 26, 2025 at 4:53 PM
The slightly overhanging rock faces along the Vat Burn at Muir of Dinnet NNR are host to some characteristic lichen and moss species that I have not (or hardly ever) found further down Deeside. #scottishlichens #lichens #biodiveristy #scottishbryophytes #nature #geology
January 25, 2025 at 5:04 PM
When you visit Muir of Dinnet NNR to prepare a guided walk and the mosses you're meant to talk about look like this ... An absolutely stunning landscape, bitterly cold, but the weather may need to change before that guided walk. #scottishlichens #scottishbryophytes #biodiversity #bryophytes #mosses
January 21, 2025 at 7:57 PM
A quick visit to Garlogie Stonecircle yesterday to get ready for tonight's talk for the Scottish Wildlife Trust. The ringcairns in the centre are an introcate interplay between low boulders, gravel and soil and attract a wide range of mosses and liverworts. #scottishlichens #scottishbryophytes
January 16, 2025 at 9:09 AM
On Saturday 25 January NatureScot has invited me to do a bryophyte walk along the Burn o' Vat Trail at Muir of Dinnet NNR. There may only be a few spaces left, so please book soon by emailing NatureScot at Muir_Dinnet@nature.scot.
January 14, 2025 at 4:18 PM
A transect through Aberdeen in December, mainly to look at epiphytic mosses. Syntrichia papillosa was the big surprise. I had hardly any records for the species for Aberdeenshire, but it is abundant in Aberdeen, the more so in the least green neighbourhoods. Does it like dusty environments?
January 14, 2025 at 3:59 PM