Orange-fruited Elm Lichen Cerothallia luteoalba

The Orange-fruited Elm Lichen (Cerothallia luteoalba) is one of Britain’s rarest lichens, almost entirely dependent on the bark of mature elms – particularly English Elm – and now critically threatened by the ongoing impact of Dutch elm disease. Its distinctive pale grey-green thallus and vivid orange apothecia make it one of the more recognisable rarities of the elm bark lichen community. Nationally it survives at only a small number of sites where mature elms persist, and Suffolk – where English Elm remains more widespread in hedgerows than in most other English counties – is of outstanding importance for this species. The county’s elm-rich hedgerow landscapes therefore carry a dual significance, supporting both this lichen and the White-spotted Pinion moth, underlining the extraordinary conservation value of Suffolk’s surviving mature elms. Image: © Frederik V. Holsbeeck, iNaturalist.

Find out more: iNaturalist, British Lichen Society, Suffolk LNRS information page