Misidentifying Lichens*

I am interested in lichens. What I learned until now is that I find new difficulties in identifying them each time I try. So this is me, trying.*

This pages purpose is to document my efforts in lichen identification and serve as a basis for discussion. Lichenology is not easy and new and surprising ways to get it wrong wait at each step of a key. Besides showing where I got, I want to show where I got it wrong. I am not an expert - I am an enthusiastic amateur.

If you find things that I missed, have suggestions or see me making mistakes, please tell me -  for example on via @peterbraubach.bsky.social on Bluesky.

Changelog:

2025-09-09

• added Chaenotheca brunneola (Ach.) Müll. Arg.  (243A)

2025-09-03

• added further images to  Acarospora atrata and Acarospora fuscata.

• embedded high resolution images and fixed some links and permissions.

2025-09-02

• added Acarospora atrata Hue (#260, #261)

• removed image from Acarospora cervina (wrong scale bar)

2025-08-30

• added Lecanora symmicta (Ach.) Ach. (#124) and Lecanoropsis saligna (Schrad.) Ivanovich & Printzen (#189)

2025-08-28

• added a variant of Amandinea cf. punctata (#239) with unusual UV reaction on sandstone

• added Sarcogyne pruinosa (Schaer.) A.Massal. (#250) and Sarcogyne nivea Kremp. (#249A)

• added Toniniopsis bagliettoana (A. Massal. & De Not.) Kistenich & Timdal (#246)

2025-08-10

• added Petractis clausa (Hoffm.) Kremp. (#229) and Verrucaria bryoctona (Th. Fr.) Orange (#222)

• added Micarea lithinella (Nyl.) Hedl. (#216)

2025-08-01

• added Chaenotheca chlorella (Ach.) Müll. Arg. (#225) and Chaenotheca trichialis (Ach.) Th. Fr. (#226)

2025-07-05

• added Coenogonium pineti (#218) and Cladonia caespiticia (#220)

2025-07-01

• added macro photos to Lecanora sulphurea (#3).

• added species to the alphabetical listing

2025-06-29

• added various new species the lichens index.

2025-06-19

• added several new species (C. vitellina, C. cerina, F. oasis, P. muralis, R. elegans, X. crenulatella)

• sorted individual pages into alphabetical groups

2025-05-27

• added Gyalecta nidarosiensis (#147) and Gyalecta leucapsis (#148)

2025-05-16

• added macro photos for Athelia arachnoidea (#115) 

2025-05-14

• added Gyalecta jenensis (#157), Acrocordia conoidea (#153) and Acarospora fuscata (#131)

• minor housekeeping edits

2025-05-12

• added Acarospora cervina (#172), Bilimbia sabuletorm (#96) and others

• new pictures for S. umbrinum.

2025-05-09

• added further species

2025-05-08

• updates to main page

• added lichens - index  and - misidentification

• added subpages for several lichens e.g. #2, #3, #22,  #133, #138

2025-01-12

• Created the initial site.

*the title of the page "misidentifying lichens"  is a shamless pagiarism of  a hommage to Clare Blencowes "Misidentifying Fungi" now continued at Enjoying Field Mycology.