A RARE lichen previously thought to occur only in Alaska, Oregon, Chile, New Zealand and Tasmania has been found thriving in Scotland’s north-west Highlands.

The discovery of Micarea prasinella flourishing thousands of miles from its known locations has surprised lichen experts who are now reassessing their understanding of the species and its distribution.

The black beaded lichen was spotted during a field survey of the Dundonnell estate by Scottish Natural Heritage’s (SNH) lichen expert Dave Genney who immediately recognised it as something out of the ordinary.

He said, “This very neat looking lichen caught my eye with its dark green velvety carpet, dotted with shiny black fruits.

It was growing on woodland mosses and liverworts among tree roots at the top of a rock step below a larch tree. Its location at the top of the rock step probably protects it from over shading by bracken and from trampling.

“I didn’t recall ever having seen a photo of it before so I collected it because it looked distinctive enough to identify”

Dr Brian Coppins, senior lichenologist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, was also on the Dundonnell trip, and was able to identify Dave’s lichen straight away, as he remembered seeing it when he was in Chile.

He revealed, “I was amazed to see this lichen that I had only seen previously on an expedition in the Chilean rainforest in 1986. It is rare to find a new species to Scotland, but to find a new species to Europe is fantastic.”

The public are being asked to come up with a common name for the lichen.