Three Related Lichens

Lecanora chlarotera, Lecanora dispersa and Lecanora muralis.  January 2017.

This is a good season for lichens, so I have been taking some photos of them.

These are three species from the same genus.  The first one, Lecanora chlarotera, grows typically on trees, in a patchwork with some soepcies from different families.

Here's a typical example.

Lichens on a tree high on Kemsing Down, 12 April 2014.

Here it's in a patchwork with Lecidella elaeochroma (black dots) and Physcia tenella (small, leafy).

Lecanora muralis, on the other hand, could not have a more different environment.  It grows all over the pavements, often in busy areas.   It prefers not to be walked on too much, but can survive a bit of footfall.

Lecanora muralis,  pavement of Mead Way, Hayes, 29 January 2016.

Here it is on asphalt.  It can easily be mistaken for chewing gum at a casual glance.

The third example, in the middle of the top picture, is Lecanora dispersa.  This is either rarer or just less often recorded.  It's not so easy to see, because what you do see is little more than an array of the fruits, without a visible thallus.  I found that one right next to L. muralis, and I only found it when looking at my photos.

Lecanora dispersa on the pavement on Bourne Way, Hayes, 12 January 2017.

Those light orange dots are another lichen species - I suspect young spots of a Candelariella - and I think the black areas are probably yet another, though I can't be sure, not being a lichen expert.