15
that forms dense sponge-like tufts on the ground.
Another bushy lichen that grows on the ground,
this time of a nice glossy dark brown colour,
is Coelocaulon aculeatum (= Cornicularia aculeata).
There is a record of this lichen, dating from
1968-1969, made by A. Pentecost from the High
Beach area in Epping Forest, where I have not
yet refound it, and another older record (of
subsp, hispidum = C. muricata) from Tiptree Heath
in 1862, again in the Varenne collection.
However, it has turned up in quantity on shelly
coastal shingle at Shoeburyness, on land owned
by the Ministry of Defence. Here it forms
scattered loose balls among a fabulously rich
higher plant vegetation, with such rarities as
Trifolium suffocatum. It is surprising that the
loosely attached tufts do not blow away,
considering the high winds that are often
experienced in this area.
At the Shoeburyness site was another Cladonia
of interest, C. foliacea. This is one of the
Cladonia's in which the basal squamules are
dominant, the podetia being rather inconspicuous.
The squamules are green on the upper side and
white, distinctly tinged yellow, on the under-
side. It is a fairly common lichen of sandy
ground around the British coast. Unfortunately,
it's habitat is also the haunt of the holiday-
maker, who often tramples it out of existence.
At Shoebury it is absent from suitable areas to
which the public are admitted. It is also known
from Colne Point (where the sea has eroded its
major stand), Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve
and Alresford.
A Field Club meeting on 11th May, 1980, was an
opportunity to look at the lichen flora of
Hatfield Forest. A rather small total of 29