Peter Smith writes:

All Saints’ Church , Newtown Linford, is attractively situated next to the main entrance to Bradgate Park, its churchyard being bounded on two sides by the River Lin.  For our visit, the weather told you Spring was on the way: primroses (Primula vulgaris) and Sweet Violets (Viola odorata) were already in flower and the sunshine had brought out at least three species of ladybird.

Sweet Violets (Viola odorata) (Photo - Peter Smith)

However, the main object of the meeting was to look at lichens and, once again, Ivan Pedley gave a masterclass on the subject.  Most of the gravestones here are of slate, which is a challenging substrate for lichens so there are relatively few common species to get to grips with.  The most striking is Melanelixia fuliginosa, which forms dark rings and blotches with shiny, olive-green lobes around the margins.  On some of the upper surfaces, Buellia aethalea and Buellia ocellata were fighting for territory to create a leopard-skin (or ocelot-skin) mosaic, with dark lines defining the zones of conflict.

Buellia lichens (Photo - Peter Smith)

Leaving the church, we paused on the bridge to note the colony of Rustyback fern (Ceterach officinarum).  The boundary wall near the gates of Bradgate Park was one of the first in the country for which a date was estimated from the range of lichen species growing there.  You can distinguish the oldest sections of wall by their extensive white coating of Lecanora rupicola, sometimes mixed with the yellower Lecanora orosthea.

Now familiar with some of the commoner lichens to be found on acid rocks, we ventured further into the park to see some regional rarities.  Rock Tripe (Lasallia pustulata) is distinctive enough to have a common name, though Bradgate Park is one of only a few sites in the Midlands where it can be found.  It changes dramatically from pale brown to bright green when it becomes wet.  The “Middle Wall” through the park is the most important site for lichens in VC55 and hosts several species that would ordinarily be more at home in the Welsh or Scottish Highlands.  Among them, Montanelia disjuncta is reminiscent of greenish-black seaweed, while Stereocaulon vesuvianum plausibly resembles the clouds of volcanic ash that provide its name. 

Montanelia disjuncta (Photo - Peter Smith)

Foraging among the lichens were the tiny larvae of the moth Luffia lapidella, which – like caddisflies – form a protective case around themselves and disguise it with bits of the surroundings.  Finally, in the shelter of an overhang, we found the eggs of a Vapourer moth (Orgyia antiqua), laid by the wingless female on the remains of her own pupal cocoon.

Vapourer moth eggs (Photo - Peter Smith)

(Photo at top and bottom - Peter Smith)