It is believed by some biblical scholars to be the manna that saved the Israelites from starvation after escaping from Egypt. Nowadays the little-known lichen is largely unnoticed by the public, despite its heavy presence in hillwalkers? Favourite haunts. The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute in Aberdeen has produced the first ever guide to montane heathland lichens to give a beginner’s insight into these bizarre yet fascinating organisms found in the mountainous areas of Britain.

The Montane Heathland Lichen Guide, which was written by plant ecologist Dr Andrea Britton, is a pocket-sized, waterproof introduction to lichens, fully-illustrated with photographs to help users to identify different species. Unlike other plants and flowers, lichens consist of part fungus and part green alga or cyanobacterium, yet function as one organism in a process known as symbiosis. While most plants absorb water from the soil through their roots and have a waxy coating on their leaves which prevents the absorption of pollutants in rainfall, lichens absorb rain water and nutrients over their whole surface, making them much more vulnerable to air pollution. This makes them excellent indicators for determining the level of pollution and quality of air in a particular environment.

Lichens are also incredibly versatile and are used in many areas including perfumes, antibiotics and dyeing cloth, and were once applied as hair powder to wigs. There is also some evidence that suggests lichens may have been used as packing material for Egyptian mummies.

Dr Britton says, There are about 2,000 species of lichen in Britain, many of which are likely to be found on the montane shrub and moss heaths in the mountains of Scotland, England and Wales. Lichens are an important part of biodiversity in the UK, yet they go largely unnoticed. They have many uses, and due to their sensitivity to air pollution, their presence or absence can tell you about the air quality in a particular location.

I decided to write the guide to give people a non-technical introduction to different species they might come across and to help them identify lichens when they are out exploring the British countryside. Lichens have a reputation of being hard to identify, mainly because up until now there have been few easy-to-read field guides to help beginners get started. Hopefully this will encourage more people to take an interest, and will help improve our knowledge of little-studied mountainous habitats where new species can still be found.

The Montane Heathland Lichen Guide costs £10.99, and can be purchased at www.macaulay.ac.uk/lichen , or by contacting the Macaulay Institute on 01224 298 200 or j.lund@macaulay.ac.uk

The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute was founded in 1930 and is an international centre for research and consultancy on the environmental and social consequences of rural land uses. With an annual income from research and consultancy of over £11m, the Institute is the largest interdisciplinary research organisation of its kind in Europe, and aims to provide evidence to help shape future environmental and rural-development policy on a national and international basis.

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