The discovery was made by IoSWT CEO Julian Branscombe, who was accompanied by leading lichenologists Maxine Putnam and John Skinner. 

Julian said, “It is wonderful to have found a third population of this beautiful lichen. It is so special to know that our land is even more important for such a diverse variety of wildlife.” 

The Isles of Scilly were historically a national stronghold for the gilt-edged lichen. It was seen on most of the islands in the 19th Century, as well as being recorded on the Isle of Wight, the New Forest and a site in Dorset. There were no further records on Scilly or elsewhere until the 1960s, when a patch was found on Wingletang Down, St Agnes over a five-year period. It seemed to go extinct from there, too, from Scilly and Britain as a whole.  

In 2001, a small-but-thriving population was found on the uninhabited White Island. In 2016, a second population was found nearby on St Martin’s, and it is here that the most recent sighting has been recorded. 

Gilt-edged lichen has a green, leafy appearance, and the genus is often referred to as ‘specklebelly lichens.’ The pale grey lobes are small and rosette-shaped, turning bright green when wet, and the margins are swathed in bright yellow-green granulose soralia, giving the plant a striking and recognisable structure. It looks as the though the lobes have been delicately dabbed with molten gold. This species can grow on tree bark. However, at all three sites on Scilly, this lichen is found in damp, short, steeply-sloping coastal turf, just out of reach of breaking waves from the worst winter storms.

The Isles of Scilly AONB are supporting the costs of getting our expert lichenologists across for a range of survey work around the islands, and to deliver a beginner’s lichen training course which was a great success.