Kemsing final

Snail patterns on a Silver Birch cultivar.
Churchyard of the Church of St. Mary, Kemsing, with the Orpington Field Club on 12 April 2014.

Some other things seen at Kemsing.  This first photo is the bark of a Silver Birch, a white-barked cultivar I think, with tracks where something, probably a snail, has browsed away the algae that grow there.  You can see the triangular marks of each swipe of its tongue.  The whole trunk was covered with these intricate patterns.

Galls on Sycamore caused by Aceria macrorhynchus, a mite.
Kemsing Down with the Orpington Field Club on 12 April 2014.

This is the leaf of a Sycamore with little bumps that are the homes of a mite called Aceria macrorhynchus. The mite makes the leaf grow these small hollow protrusions, a type known as nail galls, where it lives in comfort, making its entry from under the leaf.

Five lichens.  Ramalina fastigiata, Xanthoria parietina, Lecidella elaeochroma, Lecanora chlarotera, Physcia tenella.
Kemsing Down with the Orpington Field Club on 12 April 2014.

Trees standing out in the grass at the top of the hill were covered with lichens.  They grow in great competition with each other for living space, and in this photo there are five different species showing three of the various different typical patterns of lichen growth.

On the right, looking bushy, is a fruticose Ramalina fastigiata.  The yellow foliose lichen is Xanthoria parietina, very common on trees and walls.  At the bottom left is a small grey-green foliose Physcia tenella.

Crustose, and adhering firmly to the trunk, are Lecidella elaeochroma, with black fruiting bodies, and Lecanora chlarotera, with fawn-centred "jam tart" fruiting bodies.  These two form patchworks on many treetrunks. 

Rust fungus, Puccinia lagenophorae, on Groundsel, Senecio vulgaris.
Churchyard of the Church of St. Mary, Kemsing, with the Orpington Field Club on 12 April 2014.

This is a rust fungus,  Puccinia lagenophorae, on the leaf of a Groundsel.  Magnified like this, it looks like a series of tiny flowers.  This Groundsel is suffering, but there were plenty of uninfected ones around.

Elder, Sambucus nigra, with variegated leaves.
Churchyard of the Church of St. Mary, Kemsing, with the Orpington Field Club on 12 April 2014.

Finally, this is a naturally variegated branch of an Elder.  The yellow stripes might be the result of a virus infestation. The leaves normally look quite plain, like those in the background, which are on the same plant.  It's a pretty effect, though, and unusual.  The variegated forms you can buy for the garden have yellow or white edges to the leaves, nothing like these striped veins.