looduskalender.ee

Lung lichen or tree lungwort (Lobaria pulmonaria) is widely spread and easy to recognise. Seen from above it reminds of lung tissue – which we all have seen on anatomy plates. The upper surface is ridged and veined. The thallus is leaf-like (foliose), and brownish in colour. The lung lichen is beautiful and it is quite common on trees. But although it grows in many places in Estonia, it is a protected species since it reacts negatively to environmental pollution and so is becoming rare in Europe. In Estonia it is certain to be found on aspens in hundred-year-old forests, but it grows on many other trees as well. Old graveyards are good places to search for it.