Description: This brown-grey to brown-green Cladonia lichen with occasional brown discs is very characteristic of moorland and mountain soils. It has upright, irregularly branching stalks (podetia, to 5cm tall) — often with a pale criss-cross of lines developed over the surface. Sometimes the cup-like tops develop further tiers of stalks, but from one side only. More commonly, the podetia have small spiny extensions around their perforated tops and never get far beyond this stage. It is found on moors on boggy soils. It is common and widespread in Ireland.

Key Identification Features:

• Stalks (podetia), irregularly branched with hollow, perforated tops, cup-like, surrounded by small spines one of these only, sometimes forming further tiers of stalks
• All chemical reactions are negative.

Original text submitted by Vince J. Giavarini

Distribution Map from NBN: Cladonia crispata var. cetrariiformis at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Cladonia crispata var. cetrariiformis at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.