Description: This brown to black, isidiate, abundantly single-lobed (to 3cm wide), foliose species occurs usually in damp lakeside or riverine woodlands and ravines on mossy rocks, the bases of mossy trees, in willow swamp and on hazel coppice stools. It is associated with Ireland’s older woodlands, becoming more abundant in the west. When wet, it has a strong fishy smell.

Key Identification Features:

• This is a predominantly single-lobed species, best seen when growing through mossy bark. It could only be confused with S. sylvatica which is more elaborate and multi-lobed
• The surface of the thallus on well-developed examples carries coarse isidia (stick-like outgrowths of thallus) giving it a very scabrid appearance. In Sticta sylvatica, the isidia are widely scattered revealing much more of the lobe surface.

Original text submitted by Simon Davey

Distribution Map from NBN: Sticta fuliginosa s. lat. at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Sticta fuliginosa s. lat. at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.