Lichen Hill 
Excursion 9 July 2016 
Attendees: Gintaras Kantvilas (excursion leader), Kevin 
and Abbey, Don, Amanda, Anna, Geoff and Janet, Jane, 
Sabine and John. 
T he July excursion fittingly took place at Lichen Hill, 
following the excellent Thursday evening 
presentation on The Secret Life of Lichens' by Dr 
Gintaras Kantvilas of the Tasmanian Herbarium. 
Ten enthusiastic Field Nats members and Gintaras met 
at the turnoff to the Lichen Hill Road not far from 
Eaglehawk Neck and then carefully negotiated the quite 
pot-holed and rutted gravel road in. 
The excursion group 
Photo: Geoff Fenton 
grey colour when dry. Some lichen species had 
undergone name changes due to taxonomic 
rearrangement, which can be a bit frustrating and 
confusing for beginners. 
This was an excellent opportunity to learn more about 
lichens first-hand from Tasmania's foremost 
lichenologist. Hopefully, this excursion has helped spark 
up greater awareness of and enthusiasm for lichens as 
an important element of biodiversity and landscapes. 
Pseudocyphellorio billordierei 
Photo: Geoff Fenton 
Having parked near the trail entrance, it did not take us 
long to stumble upon some lichens growing on the 
embankment (two Clodonia species, Clodio aggregata 
and Baeomyces heteromorphus). On the track itself, 
through wet sclerophyll forest, we walked only a couple 
of metres before gathering round a dogwood trunk 
covered with mosses and several foliose and crustose 
lichen species. It is not unusual to find a dozen or so 
lichen species on an individual tree, some preferring the 
lower trunk, others tending to grow on higher branches. 
And we slowly ambled on as Gintaras pointed out lichen 
species growing on rocks, soil, amongst mosses and 
liverworts, on rotting logs, on trunks and on branches. 
Some species even grow on top of each other or in 
succession. He said in this locality we could expect to 
find 100-150 species, 48 of which are listed below. As 
there had been some rain lately, the lichens were quite 
'plump', glistening and brightly coloured, and the 
bryophytes were also looking very lush. 
Some lichens change colour quite dramatically between 
wet and dry. For example, Pseudocyphellaria rubella, 
which is also very prominent in the open areas on the 
nearby Tatnells Hill, changes from bright green to a dull 
Gintaras joked that anyone who didn't at least 
remember the distinctive Pseudocyphellaria billordierei 
(photo above) from this excursion would be walking 
home. As its name suggests, this was one of the many 
lichen species first collected by Jacques Labillardiere. (Of 
course nobody ended up walking home.) 
Naturally, this outing wasn't just about lichens. A white, 
'spikey' springtail that looked like an Acanthanura 
species was spotted early on a trunk but evaded 
photographers by crawling into a bark crevice. 
Some slime moulds were found growing on moss. 
Interestingly, Geoff's photo later revealed a glow-worm 
with mucus and threads along with a white slime mould 
on a log. It is amazing what a camera lens can show up! 
There were some quite large specimens of jelly fungus 
on a rotting log ( Tremella fuciformis?). Several coral 
fungi and some puffballs ( Lycoperdon perlatum ?) were 
also seen. 
Geoff photographed a handsome group of delicate pale 
fungi (identified by Genevieve Gates as Mycena 
subgalericulata). I'm sure if Genevieve had been with us 
she would have identified many more species. 
Tasmanian Field Naturalists Club 
Page 2 
BULLETIN 364 September 2016 
