Scilly lichens

There are many different lichens in Scilly, all with their different habitats such as rock outcrops, heathland and trees. Their variety of colours are amazing from black, bright orange and even florescent green.

Scilly also has some very rare lichens such as the Gilt edged, Golden hair and Ciliate strap lichens.

But even with the clean moist air of Scilly, lichens can struggle to survive. They have special habitat requirements and are vulnerable to heathland and rock outcrops becoming dominated by bracken and scrub. Rock outcrops can even become covered by invasive plants such as Pittosporum and Hotten tot fig.