wheres mine then oh thats right leave old dave out typical
wheres mine then oh thats right leave old dave out typical
Just in response to the original poster, who asked whether Usnea was common in the UK, the answer, according to the lichen sites that I have just been looking on, is that some species may be locally common in areas of minimal air pollution, but generally they are very sensitive to air pollution and so their range is somewhat restricted in the UK. There are several species, and at least 3 are extremely rare.
Without wishing to be a killjoy, because I'm sure Ivan and others do their collecting responsibly, I just thought that this information ought to be mentioned if people are going to be pulling beard lichens off trees (where they may have taken 20 years to grow to a useful size for a bushcrafter) to burn them.
This is not a criticism of anyone in this thread, but please collect Usnea species responsibly.
Interestingly, the Wikipedia page mentions Usnea being useful as a field replacement for sterile gauze, which is certainly worth knowing if you have some handy and need a bit of gauze for a wound dressing.
The lichen I've always wondered about is reindeer moss, which is often very abundant on the ground on moorlands.
(Not my picture)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/204728...7Tn-dBytJW-dgvVu5-aeykxF-bz8GYs-aieZAb-aicbba
However, I have tried it, and it seems to take a spark and burn about as well as a housebrick, even when completely dried. Completely useless. Just wondering whether anyone has tried it with more success than me.
Maybe of interest, but where i worked fo 6 years high on Dartmoor, the last of the semi culivated fields if you like were hard to access apart from on foot, the last 2 areas were untouched by human hands for donkeys years apart from the odd roe deer.
The owner decided to clear these areas about 40 years ago, and the only real way was to roll or bruise the bracken (as the fronds are unfurling) with horse and small granite roller, and she said it was also abundant with reindeer moss, the excersise was a waste of time as the fields were never grazed, the bracken returned but never a single sign of the lichen, and i looked!
Was also told once over grazed or bruised/trampled it takes decades to return, hence the protection in Cornwall i assume.
Ivan...
Ah, it appears that reindeer moss is an arctic/boreal species, so would be on the edge of its range in Cornwall, hence being protected as an LBAP species, but is increasingly common as you go north, hence me finding it frequently on hilltops in the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons.
Still rubbish as a tinder though
I'd just like to thank Ivan wholeheartedly, my package of Tinders turned up today.
You're a true gent.
Alex