Filamentous Lichen (Stereocaulon ramulosum)

These attractive clumps of pale grey lichen were seen on rocks. They appeared to start of as regular clumps with soft tight branches with minute convoluted bluish grey pads . The branches appeared to open up into long pendulous filamentous strands ending in rounded brown apothecia which are spore sacs.

According to John Walter who identified this lichen for me " ......the blue-grey warty lumps are called cephalodia. This species has a dual symbiosis, the fungus and a green alga in the main structure and the fungus and a cyanobacterium in the cephalodia. Hence it represents three different kingdoms! "
The cephalodia are more obvious in younger lichen - as can be seen in the next photo.