About Lichens.ie
Lichen identification is challenging. Lichen literature is terse. Students of the higher plants have an enormous variety of books and web sites available to develop their knowledge. Lichenologists are a rare species themselves and good ones rarer still. Lichen biodiversity is vast and consequently they have little time to popularize their findings, or produce identification guides for amateurs.
The site is maintained by myself, Paul Whelan. You can send me feedback (errors, suggestions and omissions) to info [AT] lichens.ie.
I dedicate Lichens.ie to my good friend Frank Scallan, who died far too young in 2005.
Paul Whelan, 2008
Thanks to Howard Fox of the Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin, for his supportive comments. A special thanks to Scottish lichenologist, John Douglass, for his assistance with identification in both the field and lab. and to Scottish geologist Peder Aspen for his assistance in rock (substrate) identification. Both have a wealth of field information which they enthusiastically share with me.
I would like to thank Paula Meenehan for carefully reading the text and the Heritage Council of Ireland who provided some financial support for the inital step in this project in 2008.
Finally, thanks to Frank Dobson for his great book, ‘Lichens, An Illustrated Guide to the British and Irish Species‘. This book is the Bible for all budding lichenologists giving them the guidance, language and techniques to proudly use a 10x hand lens to enter the world of the looking glass. His book is surly an impossible task to surpass for a single individual.
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