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Despite first impressions, the Dorset heath, particularly here in the Purbeck area where I live, is not the monotinous monoculture of heather and gorse as it first appears. There are varied habitats within even a fairly small area if you look. In places, where the ground is quite bare, lichens grow readily amongst the mosses and that is where you might find Cladonia cervicornis.

According to the expert, Frank Dobson, in his authorative guide 'Lichens: An Illustrated Guide' which is still the foremost book on lichen and first published in 1979 (my copy dates from 1981!) this is "a common species nationally and is common on acid heaths, stabilised shingle, rocks, etc.". Personally I find that a little ambiguous as those habitats are not common nationally so how can a lichen that thrives in those habitats be common nationally?

Anyway, it is not uncommon here and can be found on the peat soils of the heath; on sunny days the reverse side looking quite silvery in the sun.

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Find out more about the nature of Dorset at my website www.natureofdorset.co.uk

Lichens are a headache for me when it comes to naming them. I think they are fascinating organisms but have they a structure and accompanying language of their own which I struggle to undertsand! There are several of these orange, crusty ones so I have to use all the powers of deduction I have to try and make an educated assessment of what each is nad, as far as I can tell, this is Caloplaca heppiana.

C. heppiana is very common on calcareous rocks rather than bricks (see Candelariella aurella) and forms even, closely compressed oval shapes with large orange disks in the centre. More orange in colour than Xanthoria periatina which is also very common but more so wood substrates. Telling it apart from Caloplaca saxicola is more difficult but I that seems to grow in to a larger, less even shape.

So, for me, this has to be Cladonia heppiana but do tell me if you think I am wrong!

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Find out more about the nature of Dorset at my website www.natureofdorset.co.uk

A smooothish, grey background (the thallus) with reddish brown discs (the apothecia) growing on tree bark indicates that this is almost certainly Lecanora chlarotera.

This is a very common lichen across the country with the exception of the south east and the industrial midalnds as it is not able to tollerate polluted environments.

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Find out more about the nature of Dorset at my website www.natureofdorset.co.uk

This a lichen species that is not affected by pollution at all and can grow just about anywhere, even in parks in cities! It is very common on tree branches and twigs, rocks, walls, even soil.

It can form large, condensed patches of these 'fingery' grey or, sometimes, grey-green lobes or thallus. The underside is much darker being brown at the edges becoming darker still towards the centre.

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Find out more about the nature of Dorset at my website www.natureofdorset.co.uk

It is hard to believe this lichen is, truly, a living organism; it looks just like a patch of chalk! It is an abundant lichen on hard calcareous rocks, just like we have here on most of the Dorset coast but nationally it is not common.

It forms these white/grey circular patches with a cracked centre. Often these can grow together to form large, crusty patches covering the entire rock substrate making it look as though it has been smothered in chalk dust.

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Find out more about the nature of Dorset at my website www.natureofdorset.co.uk