Tag: Lichens

Growing in Plain Sight: Women in the British Lichen Society Archives

A version of this article was first published in the British Lichen Society 2023 Bulletin no 123, pp 29-33 In March 2022, material from the British Lichen Society…

Grow and Magnify: An Illustrator’s Journey with Mycologists and Fungi

By Carole Papion My journey around Edinburgh Botanic Gardens started about four years ago, where in 2018 I enrolled in a practice-based PhD at the Edinburgh College of…

Dr Rebecca Yahr, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Sharing a love of lichens. “As a biodiversity scientist, I think there are three main themes that must be a part of my focus: diversity, conservation and people….

‘Tis the season… For admiring lichens!

Last February, RBGE launched the Wee World of Lichens, a self-guided safari-style exploration of the frequently overlooked but fascinating world of the small. Now that the leaves are…

The Wee World of Lichens – Garden Trail

Welcome to the world of the small! Let us take you on a tour of the lichens you can find here at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Pick…

The Wee World of Lichens Trail: 1 Rock Garden & Bridges

‘Life on rock’ Lichens are a rich part of our natural heritage – they thrive in the clean air and varied habitat of Scotland. In the UK we…

The Wee World of Lichens Trail: 2 Poplar Tree

‘Colouring the landscape’ Ever noticed bright orange covered twigs and tree trunks in the landscape – especially as you pass farms or on busy road verges?  Or bright…

The Wee World of Lichens Trail: 3 Azalea Lawn

‘Health indicators’ The Azalea lawn is a thing to behold in summer – bright swashes of bold colour and wonderful fragrant smells.  But delving between the blooms you…

The Wee World of Lichens Trail: 4 Glasshouse Pavement

‘Extreme Survivors’ Lichens evolved at least 400 million years ago, they occur on every continent and are extremely diverse (there are thought to be approx. 30,000 species of…

The Wee World of Lichens Trail: 5 Alpine Garden

‘Cycles of life’ Much of the rock in the alpine garden is alkaline-rich limestone.  This supports a different community of lichens to those found in the rock garden…

The Wee World of Lichens Trail: 6 Demonstration Garden

‘Balance of nature’ Lichens are an incredibly important part of local biodiversity and are a key part of the UK’s contribution to global biodiversity. ‘Biodiversity’ is the biological…

Lichen Research at RBGE

The Team The RBGE lichen team carry out research in species discovery, led by Rebecca Yahr, and in environmental change and habitat conservation led by Chris Ellis. Drawing…

Spinning a Yarn

Over the past year, Glasgow based artist Simone Landwehr-Traxler has been studying some of the lichen specimens in the Herbarium at RBGE from the islands of Scotland.   Her…

Timber buildings reveal lost world of lichen species

Lichens are a specialised group of fungi that are useful indicators of the state of the environment. The loss of various species sensitive to air pollution created by…