Description: The richly branched white-grey to grey-green thallus of this lichen forms loosely-compact tufts several centimetres in diameter. The ‘reindeer lichen’ branch tips have no preferred orientation so point in all directions. It has the pliability of a bathroom sponge when wet but becomes brittle when dry. It is common among moorland vegetation, frequently attaching to pockets of soil on outcrops and boulders in upland areas.

Key Identification Features:

• Uniformly white-grey or grey-green throughout
• Branch tips spread in all directions.

Original text submitted by Vince J. Giavarini

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

iNaturalist: Cladonia portentosa at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.