I keep thinking I see letters of the alphabet in these photographs as if this lichen is trying to tell me something but I can’t quite make out the message!

Though I’m finding lichens quite difficult to identify, even with my newly acquired guide charts, I’m fairly sure this is Lecanora chlarotera, a very common and widespread British lichen. As it will tolerate moderate amounts of air pollution, it can frequently be seen on the twigs and trunks of young semi-urban tree plantings, of the sort you might see around a shopping centre. It is also found in sparsely planted woodlands, where it benefits from more light than a densely planted forest would provide.

The lichen’s base colour ranges from cream to pale grey, it varies in texture from smooth to what one website describes as ‘strongly warted … like lumpy porridge’, and its apothecia (the little saucer-shaped fruiting bodies) range in colour from pale beige to a rusty brown. As with most lichens, you have to look closely to see how pretty it is.