Nathan Chrismas

A classic in the making!

Yep bang on

Lots of BJC specimens in matchboxes!

Found a lichen lifer today, Catolechia wahlenbergii, one of our rarest arctic-alpines. In Glen Nevis, VC97. Last official record from the area in an adjacent monad was 2003. What a beauty! #lichenGBI

Oliver looking at a tree

A lichen black fruits on a green squamulose thallus

A lichen, brown fruits on a green granular thallus

I've been out on my first fieldwork with NTS this week looking at some of their woodland sites in Perthshire. Some nice old growth indicators tucked in there, including Lopadium disciforme (black fruits) and Mycobilimbia sphaeroides (brown fruits). Also Oliver Moore.

How lichen hold the secret to a breath of fresh air An app uses lichen to help monitor air quality in places like the New Forest.

😍 Great to see some lichen love from April Windle of the @britishlichensociety.org.uk, plus our own Bill Bealey explaining how our LicheN app is used for measuring sensitivity to nitrogen pollution

Featured on BBC News ⤵️

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... 🧪

There's so much interesting stuff in Morocco, would love to make some collections there one day!

Here's Catillaria gilbertii mounted on... a wine cork for some reason

Here's Catillaria gilbertii mounted on... a wine cork for some reason

I'll be spending a bit more time here from now on, pretty neat to have access to all the specimens in the RBGE herbarium

"Apothecia are very rare, except in N.E. Scotland (Cairngorm region)." So that tracks.

Ever seen Pseudevernia furfuracea fruiting before? I'm not sure I have, but here it is on Pinus sylvestris on the shore of Loch Gamhna, Rothiemurchus VC96

Cheers Philip - I couldn't have asked for a better role!

Thanks Petra!

Photo is from my first taste of the lichens of botanical hotspot Ben Lawers last summer - a place that I'll be getting to know intimately over the next two years.

To top it off, I'll be continuing my research on lichen functional ecology at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh part time.

Can't wait to get started!

Those who know me will know how big a deal this is, and an opportunity to bring together my love for the outdoors and lichenology like never before.

I'll also get to put my climbing and hill skills into action exploring lichen diversity in places like Glen Coe, the Northwest Highlands, and on the islands of Arran, Pabbay, and Mingulay.

I'll be out from behind the computer sharpening my field identification skills, as well as learning the subtleties of microscopy back in the lab as I work on some of the UK's rarest arctic-alpine species.

Big new start for me tomorrow - after a decade in the research world, for the next two years I'm going to be working with National Trust for Scotland learning what it takes to be an independent lichen surveyor.

100%. Creativity of thought is at the core of research. Ever tried asking an LLM to generate a hypothesis based on information within a dataset? I haven't, but I can't imagine it would be anything other than nonsense.

Another one from the Tafraout granite. This looks superficially like some images of Acarospora strigata (I've never seen this in person so just having a stab...)

No chems or microscopy unfortunately as lichens aren't the primary objective of this particular trip...

Some neat Psoras from near Tafraout in Morocco. The first I'm guessing is P. decipiens complex (I was wondering if P. savizcii given the pink squamules, but uncertain of the gypsum content of the soil). The second, looking very green after rain, I'm unsure. @annevankow.bsky.social any thoughts?

Great to see this out!

How the small host the small: cryptogam trait‐mediated structuring of Antarctic microarthropod communities Primary producers shape terrestrial biodiversity, but most research has focused on vascular plants, while the role of cryptogams (mosses, lichens and algae) remains under-explored. Cryptogams dominat....

Ecography - Wiley Online Library nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Interns wanted! - Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol

Want to work on biodiversity in the Alps? ⛰️

We are offering several internship positions for the upcoming spring and summer in collaboration with the Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol 🕷️🦋🦇🐜🌼🦗🪱

biodiversity.eurac.edu/interns-want...

PhD Position in Taxonomic and Molecular Diversity of Epiphytic Lichens, Bryophytes & Microorganisms at Future Forests, University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg’s Excellence Cluster Future Forests invites applications for a PhD position researching the taxonomic and molecular diversity of lichens, bryophytes, and associated microorganisms. Learn more about the project, tasks, requirements, salary, and how to apply by January 12, 2026.

PhD Position in Taxonomic and Molecular Diversity of Epiphytic Lichens, Bryophytes & Microorganisms at Future Forests, University of Freiburg

The University of Freiburg’s Excellence Cluster Future Forests invites applications for a PhD position researching the taxonomic and molecular diversity of…

Yikes

The rise of lichens during the colonization of terrestrial environments Evidence reveals Spongiophyton as one of the earliest and most widespread lichens in Earth’s history.

This paper raises the possibility that lichens had evolved by the late Ordovician, contemporary with earliest vascular plants 🧪⚒️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...