Field Guide

Mosses, Liverworts, and Lichens

Showing 1 - 9 of 9 results
Yellow cobblestone lichen (Acarospora contigua) on a rock
Cobblestone Lichens (Acarospora Lichens)
Acarospora spp.
Cobblestone lichens , or cracked lichens, grow flat against their substrate and are textured like lumpy cobblestone streets or old, cracked paint, or they are broken into sections like the mud of a dried lake. Depending on species, the color can range from white to greenish gray to brown to bright yellow.
A variety of foliose lichens nearly covering the trunk of a small redbud tree, with redbud flowers in upper right
Lichens
About 436 species in Missouri
A lichen is a composite organism formed by certain fungus species that join with certain algae species. Lichens can be many colors and can be crusty, leaflike, flaky, branching, or mossy. They grow on rocks, trees, or other surfaces.
Common script lichen growing on a small hickory tree at Painted Rock CA
Common Script Lichen
Graphis scripta
The common script lichen produces spores in minute, branching cracks that look like tiny, strange writing. It’s easy to imagine these could be the poems of little elves.
Dust lichen, Lepraria sp., growing with moss at the base of a tree trunk
Dust Lichens (Lepraria Lichens)
Lepraria spp.
Dust lichens resemble a pale green or gray mass of dust clumped at the damp base of a tree trunk or in a rocky crevice. The dusty grains are tiny packages of lichen that can be moved away to make new lichens elsewhere.
Closeup of firedot lichen on a tombstone
Firedot Lichens (Caloplaca Lichens)
Caloplaca spp.
Firedot lichens are usually orange, yellow, rusty, or brown and look like tiny dots on a surface. To see these crustose lichens well, you often must get on your hands and knees and use a hand lens.
Closeup of a goldspeck lichen, showing apothecia, growing on a wooden handrail in the sun
Goldspeck Lichens (Candelariella Lichens)
Candelariella spp.
Goldspeck lichens are orange to yellow crustose lichens that are frequently seen growing on rocks, wood, or other substrates. Missouri has about three species.
Wart lichen, Pertusaria sp., with wartlike apothecia, many of which have eroded to show hollow structure
Wart Lichens (Pertusaria Lichens)
Pertusaria spp.
Wart lichens are warty gray lichens. The genus is noted for having the spore-bearing apothecia covered by wartlike nubbins, which gradually erode, creating a hole from which the spores can exit.
Smoky-eye boulder lichen, Porpidia albocaerulescens, closeup showing apothecia
Smoky-Eye Boulder Lichen
Porpidia albocaerulescens
Smoky-eye boulder lichen is a common crustose species that grows on rocks. Its thallus is pale gray or greenish gray and often covers an area 6 inches wide or more. Its button-shaped apothecia are dark, bluish gray with black rims.
Rim lichen (Lecanora sp.) with apothecia cups on a tree trunk
Rim Lichens (Lecanora Lichens)
Lecanora spp.
Rim lichens have mostly disk-shaped apothecia (spore-bearing structures) encircled by noticeable rims that are the same color as the rest of the lichen body. This is a large group, plus there are lots of lookalikes.
See Also

About Mosses, Liverworts, and Lichens in Missouri

Mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens seem rather similar, but these organisms are in very different groups. Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts are small, low plants usually found in damp habitats. Unlike more familiar plants, they lack veinlike structures and do not produce flowers or seeds — instead, they produce spores. Meanwhile, lichens are not plants at all: they are a collection of different fungi that have photosynthetic algae living within their tissues.