Common NJ Lichens

Remember that I am not in any way a lichen expert. This is just my notes of what I have had IDed for me over the years as I photograph lichens.

Tree Trunk Lichens (roughly in the order that I learned them)

Common Greenshield (Flavoparmelia caperata): 

- Big, greenish circles, often 6 inches in diameter but varying in size.

- Greener than most other lichen 

- No discs (apothecia)  

Rough Speckled Shield Lichen (Punctelia rudecta):

- big, grayish circles, often 6 inches in diameter but varying in size.

- White dots all over the lichen.

- Center is rougher and browner than edge, with tiny lumps (isidia)

Candleflame Lichen (Candelaria concolor):

- yellow specks

- looking closely, they always have an actual thallus, branching leaf-like form

- not a particular shape, just patches that blend into one another

Rosette lichen (Physcia millegrana)

- lots of little gray-green flakes. 

- no real shape, but they cover much of the background of many tree trunks. 

- Often has round reporductive discs (apothecia)

Orange-Cored Shadow Lichen (Phaeophyscia rubropulchra):

- very dark gray, hard to see against most bark

- largely oval in outline but generally two inches or less in diameter

- very divided thallus

- orange if you break it open

Hammered Shield Lichen (Parmelia sulcata):

- Gray colored, generally smaller than common or rough speckled. 

- surface covered in dents, somewhat like it's been beaten with a ball-peen hammer

- Branches in thallus much narrower than in the big shield lichens. 

Smooth bark lichens:

Common Script Lichen (Graphis scripta) 

- white oval patches (often wider than tall)

- dark squiggles (actually reproductive discs, apothecia, but not disc shaped)

- most often on hornbeam

Common button lichen (Buellia erubescens):

- small, oval, light gray or bark colored patches with scattered black warts

Rim lichens (Lecanora spp.):

- generally gray-green oval patches. 

- obvious reproductive discs (apothecia) with rims the same color as the lichen

- the center of the disk roughly indicates the species: waxy yellow = mealy, dark brown = bumpy, pink and small = pink-eyed, white = frosted. This is not entirely reliable nor are these the only rim lichens. 

Mapledust Lichen (Lecanora thysanophora):

- almost never has disks

- much lighter colored rim around the whole lichen

- generally on maples. 

- more common north of NJ

Lichens on branches (all of the bark lichens, plus):

Common Ruffle lichen:

- edge of thallus turned up and ruffly

- edge has conspicuous black "eyelashes" (rhyzomes)

- edge often mealy looking

Star Rosette Lichen (Physcia stellaris)  (can be on trunk as well):

- gray-white thallus.

- branches are somewhat tubular looking and smooth

- often has reproductive disks (apothecia) in a darker color. 

Strap lichen (Ramalina americana)

- bushy but with strap like branches

- reproductive discs big and balanced on edges of leaf like a plate on the edge of a board.

- not commonly seen except on recently planted nursery trees.

Bushy beard lichen (Usnea strigosa)

- bushy with stringy branches

- each branch has tiny branchlets at ninety degree angles to it all over

- reproductive discs big and balanced on edges of leaf like a plate on the edge of a board.

- not commonly seen except on recently planted nursery trees. 

Lichens on fences, or on the bases of trees (most of the above lichens plus)

British soldier lichens (Cladonia cristatella and C. floerkeana)

- green "matchsticks" with red tips

- base made up of gray-green flakes

- C. cristatella is not as bumpy on the "sticks" as C. floerkana

Common Powderhorn (Cladonia coniocraea)

- just the green sticks, with no red tips

- base is gray-green flakes

- at the base of trees almost all blue-green or gray-green flakes are this species. 

- there are many less common Cladonia species on horizontal wood, often with cups at tips of sticks

Lichens on bare ground:

Turban cap lichen (Cladonia peziziformis)

- gray-green sticks with big, pinkish-brown caps

- sometimes also grows on decaying cement 

Dixie Reindeer Lichen (Cladonia subtenuous)

- like a tangled mass of yarn

- branches fork in "y"s which then fork in "y"s etc. 

- greener and more common than the other reindeer lichen

Gray Reindeer Lichen (Cladonia rangiferina) 

- tangled mass

- grayer and not as clearly "y"-branched as Dixie

- almost only ever found on coastal plane, less common. 

Lichen on sidewalks (and gravestones)

Sidewalk Firedot

-circular collections of bright orange or red-orange discs.

Note the various candleflame, goldspeck, and gold dust lichens can also be on sidewalks, as can various crusty green ones that I can't identify

Lichens on Rocks

Smokey-eyed Boulder Lichen (Porpidia albocaerulescens)

-  oval splashes of white or light 

- covered in reproductive discs, especially in the center

- discs are waxy gray with black rims. 

Rock Greenshield (Flavoparmelia biltmorensis)

- like a common greenshield on rock

- center is noticeably more brown than edges

- smoother looking than common greenshield

Note that common greenshield can also grow on rocks

note that there are a lot more lichens that I cannot yet ID, especially on rocks. 

Common NJ mosses

 This is very rough and tentative; I am by no means a moss expert. 

First off, there are three main classes of moss commonly seen in NJ:

- Sphagnum (Sphagnopsida)

- Haircap / Smoothcap (Polytrichum/Atrichum) (Polytrichopsida)

- Everybody else (Bryopsida)

So, if you learn the first two, you can label everything else "Bryopsida" and be fairly confident.

Sphagnum moss 

-Wet ground

-Central star of short branches above whirl of longer branches

-can be several inches "tall" and are actually even longer but buried in debris.

-often look wet and squishy or wooly 

-often light green or reddish

-whorl generally under 1 inch diameter

a sphagnum moss

a sphagnum moss

a sphagnum moss that has been knocked sideways

Haircap and Smoothcap (Polytrichum / Polytrichastrum and Atrichum)

- Look like little stars

- Haircap when dry fold upward like little paint brush tips

- Smoothcap when dry crinkle into tight, squiggly clumps

- Haircap have longer, narrower leaves and can be several inches tall

- Smoothcap have broader leaves and are rarely more than an inch high if that. 

Haircap (moist) narrow stars

Smoothcap (moist) broad-leaved stars

Haircap (dry) leaves fold up 

Smoothcap (dry) leaves crumple and crinkle inward

Note that Thyme Moss (Plagiomnium cuspidatum) can also look star-like at the tips of the stalks, but the leaves are even broader, oval shaped, and the stems have oval shaped leaves not in whorls. 

Thyme moss (not in the haircap/smoothcap group) 

Everybody Else

These are roughly in the order in which I learned them.

Delicate Fern Moss (Thuidium delicatulum)

- very common in woods

- tapered from base to tip in a long triangle

- has side branches, so looks "twice compound" like a fern

- side branches are somewhat loose and messy

Delicate fern moss

a few mosses can be confused with it. Brocade is common, but each stem looks rolled in at the edges. Redstem Feather is very uncommon and much looser. 

Brocade Moss (Callicladium imponens)

- common in woods

- tapered from base to tip in a triangle

- each side branch has leaves neatly rolled under

- tips of side branches lighter

- looks like it was embroidered, very tight and tidy

Cushion moss (Leucobryum glaucum)

- grows in clumps

- light colored, often blue-green

- leaves are elongated and look succulent

- common in woods 

- another species, white moss (Leucobryum albidum) is less common but present

Cushion moss

a big patch of cushion moss

Silvery Bryum (Bryum argentium)

- the sidewalk-crack moss

- leaves so tiny the whole moss looks velvety

- sometimes grayish but can be green or red-brown

- can grow away from pavement but likes rock and poor soil 

Silvery bryum 

a similar moss, but much less common, in similar situations, but with longer leaves is:

Redshank (Ceratodon purpureus)

Redshank (you can see individual leaves)

Thyme moss (Plagiomnium cuspidatum)

- oval leaves alternate along stem

- somewhat transluscent

- leaves have clear midvein and a sharp tip

Thyme moss 

Tree Moss (Climacium americanum et al.) There are several species in our area, hard to separate
- big for a moss, like 3 inches tall

- long, inch-long, branches in whorls 

- small leaves mostly appressed to the brachlet

- not too common, wood edge

tree moss 

Bristle moss (Orthotrichum stellatum et al.) There are several species in our area, hard to separate

- grows on tree branches

- round clumps

- like little stars

- "fruit" are oval and among the leaves (technically the capsule of the sporophyte)

Bristle moss 

This is very commonly mixed up with crisped pincushion moss (Ulota crispa) which is a more northern species and has its "fruit" in elongated capsules that stick up well above the leaves

Crisped pincushion

Fork moss (Dicranum sp.)

- looks brushed to one side

- long, silky looking leaves

- forest floor or boulders (two different species) 

- grows in clumps

Fork moss

Tree skirt moss (Pseudoanomodon attenuatus)

- grows on the base of trees (or sometimes elsewhere)

- grows down and spreads outward

- new growth looks like little lighter colored balls at the tips of branches

Tree skirt moss

Tree skirt moss

Note that other mosses also grow on tree bases.

Other, more challenging mosses:

There are lots of other mosses in NJ that are either less common or more challenging to ID. 

Rock mosses (Grimiaceae) are dark mosses in clumps on boulders. 

an example of a rock moss (the yellow-green is not)

Bladder moss (Physcomitrium pyriforme) grows in disturbed soil and has very round "fruit" (sporophyte capsules) on little stems above a clump of velvety-looking moss

Bladder moss

Apple moss is much the same, but with long, silky leaves, and "fruit" on droopy stems

Apple moss

Seductive Entodon moss (Entodon seductrix) has long, smooth branches with leaves tightly appressed all the way around, like tiny ropes (It also has the weirdest name of any common moss, someone spent way too long in the lab!)

Seductive Entodon moss

Spoon leaved moss (Bryoandersonia illecebra) is similar but grows upward and the leaves are not as tight to the stems. The tips are light. This is an extremely common species in the woods by me 

Pocket moss (Fissidens taxifolius) is a neat little moss that likes wet and looks like someone ironed tiny Cristmas tree branches.

Pocket moss

Plait moss (Hypnum cupressiforme et al.) are several messy looking forest floor mosses that I never try to actually ID. they look something like this 

Probably a Plait moss

Branch moss (Callicladium haldanianum) is another messy moss that I can't ID. It's shiny.

Probably branch moss

Lindberg's hypnum (Calliergonella lingbergii) is another messy moss, more spreading in the leaves. I can't ID it, either

probably Lindberg's hypnum

Red-stem feather moss is another messy moss, but it has a distinct red stem at least

Red-stem feather moss 

And hoar moss (Hedwigia ciliata) is a cute little bristly-looking clumping moss of boulders (and old roof shingles) that I've just learned

Hoar moss 

Remember I am still learning and these are just my notes! 

Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana)

 Eastern redcedar has 

- scale leaves, 

- needle like leaves on young growth

- blue "berries" that are actually cones

- shaggy bark  

- narrow tree-shaped growth habit

typical scale-like foliage. often somewhat upturned. Notice the twigs are somewhat scaly too

typical fruit. They are lumpy, unlike actual berries. They have a gray coating on them
The fruits are edible, usually ground as a spice for meats or to flavor gin. 

A young tree just starting to switch from needle foliage to scale foliage 

very young trees are often but not always purple and have needle foliage. 

Male cones are brown and about a quarter inch long on tips of branchlets. 

Mature foliage is often yellow green. 

Somewhat typical shape of a larger tree

bark is finely shreddy 

bark frequently has white patches of redcedar crust fungus (Dendrothele nivosa)
in fact I don't think I've seen a mature redcedar without it. 

twigs year round can have galls of cedar apple rust (Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae)

In April the cedar apple galls grow long, orange telia which make spores that then infect apple trees

orange patches directly on twigs in spring are probably cedar-quince rust (Gymnosporangium clavipes)

Eastern Red cedar is probably most easily confused with common juniper (Juniperus communis). It is uncommon in NJ, mostly only seen in plantings. It never has the scale foliage, only the needle foliage. It is generally sprawling rather than tree-like. There are lots of horticultural Juniperus varieties, that likewise lack the scales. 

This is common juniper to compare.

For me, the most challenging look-alike is Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides). This is generally a south Jersey species and really only grows in wetlands. 

- When the fruit is present it is easy to tell from redcedar as it has brown cones with obvious scales (if still tiny). 

- The foliage is somewhat flattened.

- The scales are more diamond shaped and often have a dot (gland) in the middle) 

- Sprays of foliage tend more toward a fan shape whereas redcedar is more triangular or tree shaped. 

This is Atlantic White Cedar to compare. 

Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) is a very, very common horticultural tree in NJ. It has very flat, scaly foliage and cones that are brown, scaled, small, and vase-shaped. 

Arborvitae to compare

Knapweeds (Centaurea sp.)

 

Note: these are my notes, they may well be incorrect. Knapweeds are best identified from a side-view of the flowerhead, which shows clear details of the phyllary bracts (green or brown overlapping "scales" at the base of the "flower") Most common in central NJ (my area) is C. nigrescens, Tyrol knapweed. Each bract has a larger green triangle at the base, with a smaller, dark (black or brown) roundish disk on the end, which is fringed with 5-8 bristles on each side. The green triangle never has bristles outside of the disk. The disc does not obscure your view of other bracts.  

 Most common in NJ as a whole (and especially in the coastal plains) is C. stoebe, spotted knapweed. Each bract is triangular shaped with length-wise stripes and a dark border on the upper third. This dark border has bristles. Also, the basal leaves are very divided, moreso than in other Centaurea species.

   

 I don't have a photo of it, but batchelor's buttons, C. cyanus supposedly is a common escape in NJ. It has bright blue flowers with very broad ray flowers, a very different color from any other of the knapweed species. 

 Brown knapweed, C. jacea has larger flowerheads than either Tyrol or spotted knapweed. It's bracts are brown and papery, not triangular-shaped. They can be somewhat bristly at the base of the phyllary, but near the "flower" they are not and are often notched. They are not green, not striped, and not narrow.  

 Black knapweed, C. nigra, is not often seen in NJ. It's bracts seem to be all fringe. They are very narrowly triangular and obscure the bases of the other bracts. They have more than 8 bristles on a side.  

 There is a hybrid of brown and black knapweed, Monckton's knapweed, C. moncktonia. It has strongly fringed lower bracts and papery, notched upper bracts. I believe this is it here:  

 Finally, there is the garden flower, perennial coneflower, C. montana. It has blue ray flowers that are extremely narrow and widely spaced. I don't believe it escapes: