The Lyons Share

More from Frensham Great Pond and some impressive lichen communities. I think the greenish lichen in this photo is Cladonia portentosa but I am not a lichenologist by any means! Sand Sedge is perhaps the best visual example of a species that spreads by rhizomes, a horizontal underground stem that roots and spreads at the nodes. You can see 11 upright stems growing from this single plant. I think this community is likely to be an inland form/variant of the scarce SD11 but I need to learn a few more Cladonia species before I can confirm this, fortunately they don't rot down in the winter like vascular plants. Incidentally, Trouble with Lichen is a sci-fi by John Wyndham and worth a read.

This is another nationally uncommon NVC community W5a Alder & Greater Tussock Sedge - Common Reed sub community. This is the woodland community variant with an understorey of Wood Club-rush that completely replaces the understorey of sedges.

I am starting to get as excited at seeing a new NVC community as I get when I see a new species. I am aware that this is massively nerdy but do I look like I care?