Further information

You’ll find many specific references scattered through the various sections of this website. Some of those references are also listed here, but most of the ones given here are of more general interest. This is far short of a comprehensive list and there is a bias towards information relevant to Australia, but these provide a start and each will lead you to further sources of information.

This page is divided into several categories:

Books - Australian identifcation guides
Books - other identifcation guides
Books - photos, non-Australian
Books - other
Websites - Australian lichen websites
Websites - photographs on non-Australian websites
Websites - other

Books - Australian identification guides

Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia: Lichens. ABRS & CSIRO, Canberra.
A series of volumes which will supply technical descriptions of all Australian lichens. The first volume appeared in 1992 and information about the published volumes is available here.

Eldridge, DJ & Tozer, ME. (1997). Soil Lichens and Bryophytes. Department of Land and Water Conservation, Sydney.
A semi-popular account of the ecology of the species in semi-arid Australia. Many colour photographs. The lichens and bryophytes of semi-arid Australia are typically absent from field guides.

Filson, RB & Rogers, RW. (1979). Lichens of South Australia. South Australian Government, Adelaide.
A technical identification guide, though the taxonomy is dated the book is still useful for helping identify various arid area lichens.

Kantvilas, G; Elix, JA & Jarman, SJ. (2002). Tasmanian Lichens: Identification, Distribution and Conservation Status. 1. Parmeliaceae. ABRS ( Canberra) & Tasmanian Museum ( Hobart).
Keys to genera and species of Tasmanian species of the family Parmeliaceae. Distribution maps for and some notes about all species as well as B/W photographs of many.

Kantvilas, G; Jarman, SJ & Fuhrer, BA. (1999). Lichens of rainforest in Tasmania and south-eastern Australia. ABRS, Canberra.
Numerous excellent colour photographs of and a key to the macro-lichens.

Lumbsch, HT; McCarthy, PM & Malcolm, WM. (2001). Key to the genera of Australian lichens: apothecial crusts. ABRS, Canberra.
A key to those genera of crustose lichens that produce their spores in disc-like apothecia. Numerous colour photographs. For the person serious about lichens.

McCarthy, PM. (1994) Lichens, pages 17-28 in Entwisle, TJ (ed.), Aquatic Cryptogams of Australia: A guide to the Larger Fungi, Lichens, Macroalgae, Liverworts and Mosses of Australian Inland Waters. Australian Society for Limnology, Melbourne. (=the society's Special Publication No. 10.)
McCarthy's chapter contains an identification key to the genera of lichens in Australian inland waters. There are also a number of drawings showing some macroscopic, but mainly microscopic, features.

McCarthy, PM & Malcolm, WM. (2004) Key to the genera of Australian macrolichens. ABRS, Canberra.
A key to the genera of non- crustose lichens. Numerous colour photographs. For the person serious about lichens.

Rogers, RW (1981). The Genera of Australian Lichens. University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia.
Short descriptions about the characteristics of each genus as well as a key to the genera. There have been some taxonomic changes since 1981. The book is still useful but parts are out of date so use it with care.

Books - other identification guides

Many lichen species found in Australia are also found elsewhere in the world and a great many genera are widespread. Therefore there are times when consulting an overseas identification guide can be useful. Listed in this section are several overseas works with detailed generic and species descriptions. These are of course technical volumes.

Galloway , DJ. (1985). Flora of New Zealand: Lichens. Government Printer, Wellington.
Galloway, DJ. (2007). Flora of New Zealand: Lichens (2nd, rev. ed.). Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln.
Many of the New Zealand species are also found in Australia so these books can sometimes supply useful information. Each edition contains species descriptions as well as some additional information. The second edition consists of two volumes and at times refers readers to the original edition, rather than repeating what was said there. You can get to electronic versions via this link (http://floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz/pages/Index.aspx )

Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert
This appeared in three volumes, published by Lichens Unlimited, University of Arizona, Tempe. The publication dates and editors are as follows:
Volume1. (2002). Nash, TH, III; Ryan, BD; Gries, C & Bungartz, F.
Volume2. (2004). Nash TH, III; Ryan, BD; Diederich, P; Gries. C and Bungartz, F.
Volume3. (2007). Nash TH, III; Gries. C and Bungartz, F.

Smith, CW; Aptroot, A; Coppins, BJ; Fletcher, A; Gilbert, OL; James PW and Wolseley, PA (eds.) (2009). The Lichens of Great Britain and Ireland (2nd. ed.)

Books - photos, non-Australian

The books listed here are of limited use for identifying Australian lichens, but the photos are superb. If you get a chance to browse through these books, your time will be well spent. Looking through high quality photos will both introduce you to the variety in the lichen world and help you become familiar with the overall features of and variations in the different genera.

Brodo, IM; Sharnoff, SD & Sharnoff, S. (2001). Lichens of North America. Yale University Press, New Haven & London.

Wirth, V. (1995). Die Flechten Baden-Württembergs (2nd. ed). Eugen Ulmer GmbH & Co, Stuttgart.
The second edition has about double the number of photos of the already magnificent first edition, which had been published in 1987.

Books - other

Ahmadjian, V. (1993) The l ichen symbiosis (2nd. ed.). John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Discusses many aspects of lichen biology.

Dashorst, GRM & Jessop, JP. (1990). Plants of the Adelaide Plains and Hills. Kangaroo Press, Adelaide.
Almost totally devoted to vascular plants but paintings of nine lichen species are shown on two of the plates.

Gilbert, OL. (2000) Lichens. Collins, London.
This is one of the "New Naturalist" series published by Collins. I have not seen the book but am listing it since I think highly of the companion bryophyte and fungal volumes. They have a focus on British species and their ecology, but with much information that would be interesting beyond a British audience. The lichen volume is said to be the same.

Malcolm, WM & Galloway, DJ. (1997) New Zealand Lichens, Checklist, Key, and Glossary. Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa.
If you are seriously interested in lichens this book is a must for the well-illustrated glossary of technical terms. Moreover, there are excellent colour photographs of numerous species.

McCarthy, PM. (1992). Bibliography of Australian Lichens: 1807-1991. National Herbarium of Victoria.
A comprehensive list of 1144 publications from 1807 to 1991 that mention Australian lichens.

Nash, TH, III (ed.) (2008). Lichen Biology (2nd. ed.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Detailed information on various structural, physiological or ecological topics.

Purvis, W. (2000). Lichens. Natural History Museum, London.
A well-illustrated 106-page book which gives a good introduction to lichen variety, biology and ecology. Aimed at a general audience.

Richardson, DHS. (1975). The Vanishing Lichens: Their History, Biology and Importance. David & Charles, London.
A self-descriptive title of a book aimed at a general audience.

Scott, GAM; Entwistle, T; May, T & Stevens N. (1997). A conservation overview of Australian Non-marine Lichens, Bryophytes, Algae and Fungi . Wildlife Australia, Canberra.
The title says it all.

Seaward, MRD (ed.). (1977).Lichen Ecology. Academic Press, London.
This book has detailed chapters on various ecological topics.

Websites - Australian lichen websites

http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/lichenlist/introduction.html
Checklist of lichen species recorded for Australia and numerous illustrations. Provides links to three identification keys.

http://www.dec.wa.gov.au/science-and-research/plant-research/lichen-info-sheet.html
Department of Environment and Conservation, Western Australia.

http://members.westnet.com.au/roderickrogers/
Queensland

http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=2434
Lichens and the Australian Antarctic Division

Websites - photographs on non-Australian websites

All the following websites contain all display excellent photos of a great variety of lichens. A number of the species shown in these websites also occur in Australia and many are similar in appearance to species found in Australia. Browsing some of these non-Australian websites will introduce you to the variety in the lichen world and would be educational even to Australian residents.

http://www.hiddenforest.co.nz/lichens/index.htm
New Zealand .

http://www.tropicallichens.net/
Tropical species.

http://www.fieldmuseum.org/research_collections/botany/botany_sites/ticolichen/index.html
Information about and photos of Costa Rican lichens.

http://www.chilebosque.cl/lich.html
A Spanish language website about Chilean lichens.

http://www.sharnoffphotos.com/lichens/lichens_home_index.html
North American lichens.

http://www.floraislands.is/engflora.htm
A general Icelandic flora website, but with over 100 lichen photos.

http://www.lichenology.info
A site devoted to the lichens and lichenicolous fungi of Belgium, Luxembourg and northern France. Though seemingly of limited interest the photos of numerous species would be useful to many people living elsewhere.

http://www.lichens.lastdragon.org/index.html
Scottish and other British lichens.

http://www.britishlichens.co.uk/
British lichens.

http://www.myco-lich.com/

On its home page this website's stated aim is to be a "...comprehensive website for the development of Mycology and Lichenology of Iran". A number of the species pictured on this website are found in Australia but, more importantly, it gives information about the lichens of an area for which little information has been readily available in the past. In early May 2011 there were still pages under construction but this is already a very interesting and informative website.

Websites - other

http://www.lichenology.org/
Homepage of the International Association for Lichenology.

http://www.nybg.org/bsci/lichens/
The basics of lichens.

http://www.lichen.com/
A website with basic information about many things to do with lichens.

http://ocid.nacse.org/lichenland/
Lichens - from light-hearted to a technical, synoptic key

http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/checklists/lichens/portalpages/portalpage_checklists_switch.htm
A checklist of checklists of lichens and lichenicolous fungi.

http://www.bgbm.fu-berlin.de/sipman/keys/
Index of on-line identification keys.