Usnea subfloridana Common Beard Lichen

A common fruticose lichen with a bushy, branched, filamentous thallus and a blackish holdfast which attaches the thalus to the substrate. Probably the most common species of Usnea in our area, but other species can be confused with it. It is quite variable but usually grey-green or yellow-green in colour and it produces rounded, concave patches of soredia and isidia. It is common and widespread on trees, particularly on twigs and rarely on the trunk or in the canopy. It also grows on wooden posts and fences and sometimes on rock.

Listed by Alan Orange in Flora of Glamorgan (Wade et al, 1994).