Species introCountry intro
Reindeer lichen (Cladonia portentosa), Loonse en Drunense Duinen, Netherlands
A full field of reindeer lichen. To be specific, Cladonia portentosa, because multiple species carry this common name. The dutch name of this particular species translates as "Open reindeer moss". The "Open" word refers to its branching, yet the moss part is of course misleading, this not being a moss.
I stumbled upon this field and accidentally stepped on the edge of it. They were so dried out that they crumbled into dust, although this species does always have this pale look.
To be clear, always avoid messing with lichen when you can, they grow incredibly slow, max 0.5cm per year.
Although I did my research, species ID is likely but still tentative. The main alternative is Cladonia rangiferina. Cladonia portentosa has more symmetrical branching, which I'll show in another photo later in the set. Furthermore, Cladonia portentosa is associated with poor habitats as seen here, and it statistically dominant in occurrence.
''Cladonia portentosa'', also known as reindeer lichen, is a light-coloured, fruticose lichen belonging to the family Cladoniaceae. A similar-looking species, also known by the common name "reindeer lichen", is ''Cladonia rangiferina''.
comments (5)
An example of misuse is people plucking them for homemade Christmas decorations. Luckily this is not a big thing, yet. A far bigger threat is horse riders. There's 6 riding schools close to this place, and some are careless where they take their horses.
We seem to have at least a few dozen lichens that are protected. Furthermore, the government states that all lichen species are very vulnerable, not just due to slow growth, also due to sensitivity to the quality of air.
To end positively, lichens are slightly on the rise, so no downward trend currently. Posted 4 years ago
Which in this case is fine, as most people have no idea what a lichen even is. The only serious threat is trampling. Posted 4 years ago