Lichens

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Lichens
Lichens are usually overlooked.  Yet they are diverse in appearance and look awesome under a hand lens.  If you want to really know your lichens you can do chemistry and UV light tests.

Lichens: The Macrolichens of Ontario and the Great Lakes Region of the United States Lichens of the North Woods Common Lichens of Northeastern North America Lichens of North America Macrolichens of New EnglandLichens of the Ottawa Region
Lichens: The Macrolichens of Ontario and the Great Lakes Region of the United States Pub Am
An excellent guide and comprehensive to the macrolichens of Ontario. To get coverage of the microlichens (crustose), try a variety of sources including Lichens of the Ottawa Region.  To get everything you must get the papers by Samuel R Brinker of his contributions to the lichen and allied fungi on ResearchGate.  More than 200 species have been added to the Ontario list in just the past six years.   
Lichens of the North Woods
Pub
GB
A beginner's guide.  It divides the lichens first by habitat (ground, rocks, and trees) and then by type (crustose, foliose, and fruiticose).  Including interesting little tidbits and (usually optional) chemical tests for each species.  
Common Lichens of Northeastern North America Pub
Similiar to the above book.  Better organized as details about isidia, soredia and rhizines are included if they exist in a species.  Having a sentence describing the distinctive features is nice too.
Lichens of North America
GB
A reference book, heavy but quite beautiful.  Covers far more local species than Lichens of the North Woods, and is handy in making sense of Lichens of the Ottawa Region.  This book has useful common names which can be transferred to the more scientific books below.
The Macrolichens of New England Am Pub
Full species coverage of the macrolichens.  Complements Lichens of North America.
Lichens of the Ottawa Region >> Updated checklist PDF
Many more species covered, especially the crustose which require a microscope.  The book is basically a key with a few black and white illustrations to help.  For those who really want to know their lichens.  Check out the new checklist which corrects the old names.



The Lichens and Allied Fungi of Great Smoky Mountains National Park Michigan Lichens
Lichens Above Treeline The Macrolichens in West Virginia
How to Know the Lichens

The Lichens and Allied Fungi of Great Smoky Mountains National Park Pub
Terminology is quite technical but comprehensive.  Most of the info from the book is on Consortium of North America Herbaria.
Michigan Lichens
GB
Lichens above Treeline: A Hiker's Guide to Alpine Zone Lichens of the Northeastern United States Am
Macrolichens of West Virginia Am
How to Know the Lichens GB
An older book with an illustrated key.  Covers macrolichens only.

Lichen Links
Introductions...
Lichen: The Lovable & Unique Symbiosis Of Nature
Lichenlogy 101
Lichens William Purvis (Book)
Keys to Lichens of North America

Glossaries...
Glossary of Lichen Terms (from Irish Lichens) A text glossary plus a photo glossary of growth types and fruiting bodies.
Lichens Glossary A short but mostly illusrated with photos glossary from the U.S. Forest Service
Lichens - An Overview and Glossary A fully illustrated glossary covering just about all the lichen terminology.  This is recommended if you want to understand more technical field guides and literature.  Note that the lichen photographs are of lichens from Europe.  If you use this, take notes and study it.  It is well worth it for the ambituous lichen observer.
The Lichens A technical introduction to lichens.  Further on is a technical key for some country in Europe.

Photos mostly...
Macrolichens of North America - Index Organized by genus pulling from most sources in North America
Sharnoff photography Lichens Home Page Photographic guide to lichens of North America
U.S. Forest Service Lichens Photo Gallery Species covered is low.  Has a decent lichen glossary.
Ways of Enlichenment Over 2000 species covered, more focused on western North America.  Excellent photography. A few keys.  Check out the Morphogroup Index, it is a great way to organize lichens.
Homepage of Leif & Anita Stridvall Organized by genus
Field Botanists of Ontario A page of lichen photographs.  No descriptions, organized by scientific name.
Lichens & Allied Fungi of Ontario A project on iNaturalist that collects all the lichen sightings for Ontairo

Crowd sourcing, sightings and checklists...
iNaturalist, Lichens of Allied Fungi of Ontario
Mushroom Observer
Consortium of North American Lichen Herbaria Most of the observations are by lichen experts.  Search for observations by scientific name.
Natural Heritage Infomation Centre Ontario Species List This is a list for most groups of species, not just lichens.  As of the end of 2019, this list includes an incredible 1020 species of lichens.  iNaturalist, Mushroom Observer and Consortium of North American Lichen Herbaria have a number of additions to this list.

Taxon info links...
Consortium of North American Lichen Herbaria Complete guide to identifing lichens in North America.  Very technical though.  Has checklist generators too.
Annotated List of Lichens of the Macoun Club's nature study area  Includes great infomation on uncommonly covered species such as stubble lichens.  Pictures are not given for all species and are small.
Les lichens marins, maritimes et océaniques des côtes de Bretagne (Marine, maritime and oceanic lichens on the coasts of Brittany) English A lichen site from France.  A Google Translate to English link provided.  Great descriptions and photography.
Irish lichens Great pictures, great descriptions.  A very good glossary is included.  The illustrated part of the glossary is quite good. Includes a microscope image section, unfortunately mostly of lichens from Europe.

Link pages...
Macrolichens of North American - Index
Identifying North American Lichens: A Guide to The Literature  For those most serious about lichens. Very dated (2002).  The majority of the links are broken, however you may have some luck with a google search of the title of a broken link or using the Wayback Machine to look for old versions of the website.
Recent Literature on Lichens Just about everything but you need to first have a idea what you are looking for.  You can search bit not browse.
US Forest Service Lichen Resources

PDFs...
Identifying Mixed Hardwood Forest Lichens is an Ontario reference guide to common lichens
Common Lichens of Ohio Field Guide
Common Lichens of Wisconsin Fairly basic introduction, not many lichens featured.
Lichens and Ferns of Land Between the Lakes Tennessee area, not many lichens featured.
The Caliciales of Northern Maine PDF
A Preliminary Key to Calicioid Lichens and Fungi in thePacific Northwest
Lichens of West Virginia Field Gude: Ecological Indicators of Habitat Types

Other...
Species by Life Form
Ohio Moss & Lichen Association
A guide to lichens on twigs British based online key.  Simplified glossary included.