- St Mary the Virgin, Chiddingstone - Lichens to be found in our Burial Grounds Spring 2015 The bright green Psilolechia lucida on a sandstone headstone Limestone headstones with yellow Caloplaca flavescens and white Diploicia canescens Aspicilia calcarea on a low chest east of church building
CHURCHYARD LICHENS SURVEY Summary Report to Parish Name of Church: St Mary the Virgin Chiddingstone Grid reference: TQ500452 County: Kent VC: West Kent A survey of your churchyard lichens has been made by members of the British Lichen Society (BLS) on 19 March 2013 and October 2014 (BLS meeting) This survey has included lichens on the church walls, memorials in the churchyard, boundary and retaining walls, trees, benches and paths. Total number of lichens recorded: 120 Total number of lichens on church: 35 Total number of lichens on stone (saxicolous): 101 Additional species on trees (corticolous): 19 Additional species on wood (lignicolous): 2 Additional species on soil (terricolous): A list of species may be obtained by contacting the BLS address given below. General comments: This is an amalgamated total of lichens recorded in the churchyard in 2013 and by the BLS in 2014. There is an excellent collection of lichens due to the variety of stones used in memorials and the wide variety of trees growing. The pixie-cup lichens (Cladonia species) are especially well represented in the churchyard. The burial ground has an excellent boundary wall with a good range of lichens. Names of British Lichen Society surveyors: For further information contact: Ishpi Blatchley Ishpi Blatchley 3 Durham Avenue Bromley BR2 0QA Website: www.britishlichensociety.org.uk ar The Closed churchyard at Chiddingstone, like so many surrounding our parish churches, is a place of remembrance, history and peace. This special atmosphere owes much to the wildlife that makes the churchyard its home. The plants, birds and insects are very noticeable but there is another group which is easily overlooked and yet by adorning the memorials in shades of yellow, white and grey make a huge contribution to the atmosphere of the graveyard. These are lichens, the endurance specialists of the plant world although, strictly speaking, they are not plants at all. Lichens are a union of simple algae or bacteria capable of producing sugars by photosynthesis which are sheltered within the growing tissue of a fungus which provides the structure that we see as lichen. Each benefits from the other a true symbiosis of life. A church and its graveyard provide undisturbed substrates on Diploschistes scruposus on the War Memorial which lichens can grow especially on stone. Remarkably, about one third of the approximately 2000 species of lichen which occur in Britain and Ireland are found in churchyards.
A recent visit by members of the British Lichen Society together with a recce meeting a few months before found a total of 120 species of lichen in the churchyard of which 35 were found on the church building itself; 101 were found on stone and 19 were found on trees. This is an excellent total for a Kent churchyard!!! ar The church building being made of sandstone has a good selection of lichens which prefer an acidic substrate. The pale patches of Ochrolechia parella can be conspicuous. The surface of this lichen is covered with pale fleshcoloured discs seemingly dusted in sugar. They are surrounded by thick whitish rims. In past times, this lichen and other similar species were collected to obtain a reddish-orange dye called orchil this was used extensively in the Scottish Highlands for tweeds and tartans. Often seen with this is another grey lichen with smaller black fruiting bodies, Tephromela atra. On the north wall of the church there are small patches of lichen with script-like fruits, Opegrapha calcarea in amongst the more common sterile grey lichen Dirina massiliensis. This latter lichen uses the pinky orange alga Trentepohlia as its photobiotic partner and examples of this free-living alga are readily seen on the north wall of the church. The limestone memorials in the churchyard are often covered with a mixture of white and yellow lichens the most common of which are Diploicia canescens and Caloplaca flavescens. The acidic memorials provide a substrate for another suite of lichens Acarospora fuscata, Porpidea cinereoatra and perhaps the most noticeable of all Cladonia sp. One headstone to the east of the church has a luxuriant growth of Cladonia glauca which although reasonably common on heath land is not usually found on stone. The War Memorial has large expanses of Diploschistes scruposus with its somewhat sunken fruits. A headstone at the west end of the church has a colony of the case-bearing moth Luffia ferchaultella. The moth larva decorates its case with bits of lichen, in this case the grey Diploicia canescens The boundary wall supports much Lecidella scabra - its large black fruits being particularly prominent as well as O. parella already mentioned. Ochrolechia Parella Finally, the trees are being colonized by many leafy lichens particularly the magnolia tree to the south and the horizontal boughs of the oak in the east of the churchyard. These lichens are predominantly grey-green in colour amongst which can be found Parmelia sulcata, Punctelia jeckeri and Evernia prunastri. Lichen colonisation is a natural consequence of any surface that is left exposed to the environment for a long time. Lichens indicate clean air and are regarded by many as decorative rather than disfiguring. Lichens are very sensitive to environmental change and our lichen flora is constantly under threat from numerous human activities. Without lichens we would have a much poorer understanding of the health of our environment for humans as well as for wildlife. Dr Ishpi Blatchley February 2015 ishpi.blatchley@gmail.com Lichen name Cons Eval Substrate Acarospora fuscata LC Sax Y sandstone headstone DD NR Acarospora nitrophila Sc Sax Y sandstone headstone Acrocordia salweyi LC Sax X Y mortar boundary wall Agonimia tristicula LC Bry Y DSCF5197 T atra new in West Kent
Aspicilia calcarea LC Sax Y lime chest Aspicilia contorta subsp. contorta LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Aspicilia contorta subsp. hoffmanniana DD NR Sax X Y Bilimbia sabuletorum LC Sax+Bry X Y limestone headstone Botryolepraria lesdainii LC Sax X [E] Buellia aethalea LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Buellia badia DD NR Sax Y sandstone headstone Buellia ocellata LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Caloplaca aurantia LC Sax X Caloplaca austrocitrina LC Sax X Y limestone headstone Caloplaca dichroa Sc Sax Y limestone headstone Caloplaca flavescens LC Sax X Y limestone headstone Caloplaca flavocitrina LC Sax Y Caloplaca flavovirescens LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Caloplaca limonia LC Sax Y limestone headstone Caloplaca teicholyta LC Sax Y limestone headstone Candelariella medians f. medians LC Sax Y limestone headstone Candelariella reflexa LC Cort Y magnolia Candelariella vitellina f. vitellina LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Catillaria chalybaea LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Catillaria lenticularis LC Sax Y mortar boundary wall Cladonia chlorophaea s.lat. LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Cladonia coniocraea LC Cort+Sax X Y sandstone chest Cladonia fimbriata LC Sax Y sandstone chest Cladonia glauca LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Cladonia humilis LC Sax Y sandstone chest Cladonia macilenta LC Sax Y sandstone chest Cladonia pyxidata LC Sax Y sandstone chest Clauzadea monticola LC Sax Y limestone headstone Diploicia canescens LC Sax X Y limestone headstone Diploschistes scruposus LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Dirina massiliensis f. sorediata LC Sax X [N] Flavoparmelia caperata LC Cort Y magnolia Haematomma ochroleuca LC Sax Y limestone headstone Hypocenomyce scalaris LC Sax Y sandstone Mausoleum Hypogymnia physodes LC Cort Y magnolia Hypotrachyna afrorevoluta LC Sax Y headstone Hypotrachyna revolute LC Cort Y hawthorn Lecania rabenhorstii LC NS Sax X Lecanora albescens LC Sax Y limestone headstone Lecanora antiqua Sax X Lecanora campestris subsp. campestris LC Sax X Y limestone headstone Lecanora expallens LC Sax Y sandstone headstone NT NS Lecanora horiza Sc Sax Y limestone headstone Lecanora sulphurea LC Sax X Y Lecidea grisella ## Sax X Y sandstone Lecidella carpathica LC Sax Y
Lecidella elaeochroma LC Cort Y ash, oak, magnolia Lecidella scabra LC Sax X Y sandstone boundary wall Lecidella stigmatea LC Sax X Y boundary wall Lepraria incana s. str. LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Melanelixia fuliginosa LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Melanelixia glabratula LC Cort Y oak Melanelixia subaurifera LC Cort Y magnolia Micarea lignaria var. lignaria LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Micarea lignaria var. lignaria LC Sax Y Neofuscelia verruculifera LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Ochrolechia parella LC Sax X Y sandstone boundary wall Opegrapha calcarea LC Sax X Opegrapha gyrocarpa LC Sax X Y East wall; sandstone chest Parmelia saxatilis LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Parmelia sulcata LC Cort+Sax Y sandstone, magnolia Pertusaria amara f. amara LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Pertusaria lactescens LC /NS Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Phaeophyscia orbicularis LC Cort Y ash, oak, magnolia Phlyctis argena LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Physcia aipolia LC Cort Y oak Physcia caesia LC Sax Y limestone headstone Physcia tenella subsp. tenella LC Sax Y sandstone headstone fertile - very common fertile. Base of chest. new record for West Kent Physconia grisea LC Sax Y sandstone headstone and iron uncommon in Porpidia cinereoatra LC Sax Y sandstone chest Kent Porpidia soredizodes LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Porpidia tuberculosa LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Protoblastenia rupestris LC Sax X Y limestone headstone Psilolechia lucida LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Punctelia jeckeri LC Cort Y oak Punctelia subrudecta s.str. LC Lig Y Ramalina farinacea LC Lig Y Ramalina fastigiata LC Cort Y ash Rinodina oleae LC Sax Y Scoliciosporum umbrinum LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Tephromela atra var. atra LC Sax X Y sandstone Thelidium incavatum LC Sax Y limestone headstone Toninia aromatica LC Sax Y limestone headstone Trapelia coarctata LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall chest [E] Trapelia glebulosa LC Sax Y sandstone headstone and chest Trapelia obtegens LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Trapelia placodioides LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Verrucaria calciseda LC /NR Sax Y limestone headstone Verrucaria hochstetteri LC Sax Y Verrucaria macrostoma LC Sax Y limestone headstone Verrucaria muralis LC Sax Y Verrucaria nigrescens f. nigrescens LC Sax X Y limestone headstone
Verrucaria nigrescens f. tectorum LC Sax Y limestone headstone Verrucaria viridula LC Sax X Y sandstone boundary wall Weddellomyces epicallopisma # Lic Y Z0259 Xanthoparmelia mougeotii LC Sax Y sandstone headstone Xanthoria parietina LC Sax Y sandstone headstone on Caloplaca flavescens on limestone headstone Lichens recorded on the boundary wall of the extension or new burial ground Acarospora fuscata LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Acarospora umbilicata LC /NS Sax Y sandstone boundary wall new to Kent Buellia aethalea LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Caloplaca flavescens LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Diploicia canescens LC Lig Y seat Diploschistes scruposus LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Lecanora campestris subsp. campestris LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Lecanora muralis LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Lecidea grisella Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Lecidella scabra LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Neofuscelia verruculifera LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Ochrolechia parella LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Ochrolechia parella LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Parmelia saxatilis LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Pertusaria lactescens LC NS Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Punctelia jeckeri LC /NS Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Punctelia subrudecta s.str. LC Lig Y seat Ramalina farinacea LC Lig Y seat Tephromela atra var. atra LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Trapelia coarctata LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Trapelia placodioides LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Verrucaria muralis LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Verrucaria nigrescens f. nigrescens LC Sax Y sandstone boundary wall Conservation Evaluation Least concern LC X = on church Y = in yard Nationally scarce NS Nationally rare NR Lignicolous - on timber Lichenicolous - on lichens Corticolous - on trees CHURCHYARD LICHENS - Last updated January 2014 Many requests for information about churchyard lichens are received. The information below is an attempt to provide at least some partial answers and to suggest other sources of information. The Importance of Churches, with their surrounding churchyards, are a unique cultural heritage in Britain. As well as representing 1,000 years of history and the lives of those living nearby, they conserve important aspects of our natural history. It is estimated that there are 20,000 churchyards in England alone, each occupying roughly an acre of land. In lowland England, where natural outcrops of rock are absent, the churchyard is the most important site for lichens growing on stone. Some species rarely occur in other habitats. For example, Churchyard Lecanographa, a form of Lecanographa grumulosa, is confined to plaster walls on ancient churches in southern England. In Britain as a whole, over 800 species (about 46% of the British list) have been found, mainly on stone, but also on wood, trees
and soil in churchyards, cemeteries and the surrounds of abbeys and cathedrals. Lichen records from churchyards make a significant contribution to the lichen data for Britain - in England, especially. THE CHURCHYARDS PROJECT - The British Lichen Society s Lowland Churchyard project was instigated in the early 1990s by the late Tom Chester. One of the aims of the project was to survey at least one churchyard in each of the Ordnance Survey s 10km squares covering lowland Britain. This aim, as a Millennium Project, was achieved and its success was reflected, both in a better knowledge of the distribution of the more common lichen species and the rediscovery of a few that were considered to be extinct, and also in a number of important spin-offs. Not least amongst these were ways of assessing within regions the relative value of each churchyard for lichens; the importance of conserving such places as long-term habitats; and also in broadening their appeal to all ages by using them as an educational resource for talks, guided walks, projects and workshops. Further churchyard surveys covering the south west (now almost completed), Wales and the Welsh Borders, Northern England (almost complete) and Scotland and Northern Ireland are being undertaken. This ongoing work has continued to emphasise the importance of the Churchyard environment to our lichen flora. DATA COLLECTION - Surveys of churchyard lichens are carried out regularly by committee members and by others in the Society. A standard A4 survey sheet is used. On the front, this lists about 200 of the more commonly found or characteristic churchyard species and provides room for additional species, substrate and habitat details. Beginners who may wish to make use of these 'mapping cards' must note that the species names are shown in an abbreviated form (e.g. Aspi calc for Aspicilia calcarea). The back of the sheet provides space for additional species, for site details and assessment, and for conservation recommendations, as well as a key to essential abbreviations. The sheet can be downloaded and printed from the BLS website. Records are imported to the database from spreadsheets, either the BLS general spreadsheet or, for more detailed surveys, the customized spreadsheet designed particularly for churchyards. Both can be downloaded from the BLS website. EDUCATION - Exploration of lichens on churches and in churchyards provides an excellent opportunity for learning about lichens. Straightforward projects enable worthwhile study of lichen ecology for individuals, as well as groups of students. While projects can be simple, there is scope for the collection of data and statistical analysis, so they are suitable for young primary-age children up to degree-level and beyond. Remember always to work safely and to do a riskassessment in advance of your visit. The BLS formed an Education and Promotions Committee in late 1994. Six months later a pack of educational projects Exploring Churchyard Lichens was produced and 300 copies were distributed to schools and youth groups, such as WATCH, for testing. Subsequently, the projects were revised, extended and adapted for downloading from the BLS website. Four churchyard projects are suitable for beginners or older primary and younger secondary school pupils (National Curriculum Key Stages 2 and 3). These are accompanied by teachers notes, background information and a reference list. Additional, more advanced, projects (also available on the BLS website) are suitable for people with more experience of lichens or students at Key Stages 3 and 4, in the sixth form and beyond. These include a popular project on Lichens and Air Pollution: Trunks and Twigs. SOME CONTACTS FOR THE BRITISH LICHEN SOCIETY CONSERVATION IN CHURCHYARDS: Dr Ishpi Blatchley, ishpi.blatchley@gmail.com St Mary s PCC, Chiddingstone www.chiddingstonechurches.org - SEE NEXT PAGE FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR CHIDDINGSTONE SCHOOL - CARING FOR GOD S ACRE, www.caringforgodsacre.co.uk - A national charity concerned with the conservation of churchyards, cemeteries and burial grounds.
- Very much with Chiddingstone School in mind The Caring for God s Acre Education Pack is suitable for children up to the age of about eleven. It is aimed at teachers of Early Years and Primary aged children. It includes Welsh and English curriculum links. Many of the activities are also suitable for youth clubs including Sunday Schools and Scouting and Guiding groups (badges and challenges are listed). Burial grounds are excellent places to undertake the John Muir Award scheme and an application form is included for this. Based around five themes there are a wealth of activities and learning ideas. The five themes are: Precious Places - What s the Story? - Marvellous Monuments - Wonderful Wildlife - Art and Architecture The education pack has been split into 3 parts: Teacher / Leaders notes (Titled: The Churchyard and Burial Ground Education Pack) - Activity Sheets - Writing Frames Please start by looking at the Teachers/Leaders Notes document, which will give background to burial ground visits and outline the various activities for each of the themes. Resources needed for each activity are clearly listed.. These will often include the Activity Sheets. Use the Writing Frames for children s work back at school and for making posters and advertising events.