By Patricia L. Hinds and James W. Hinds
Most of the foliose and fruticose lichens (macrolichens) in Maine can be identified in the field with the use of only a hand lens. This unique key has been constructed with 3 divisions based on substrate (TREE, ROCK, or SOIL). Those divisions then lead to a series of short keys each covering a smaller groups of lichens on the basis of obvious characters such as growth form, color, lobe width, and reproductive structures. An outline of the major distinguishing characters is shown in the initial Quick Key. Each subkey is abbreviated with a letter and a number. Read the introduction of the full version for additional usage notes.
This checklist contains the 411 species of macrolichens found in Maine as of 2016. It names 21 species new to New England and 7 species new to Maine. The checklist includes notes on distribution, conservation status and substrate as well as reference information. It also gives the currently accepted name for nearly 250 additional synonyms.
Lichens of The North Woods - Joe Walewski 2007. Nice semi-key with lots of accurate photos and all but 2 species (both crustose) are found in Maine. If your budget is limited, buy this one first.
The Macrolichens of Ontario and the Great Lakes Region of the United States - Troy McMullin 2023. Outstanding photos and well organized species information. Nearly all the species occur in New England. Recommended.
The Lives of Lichens: A Natural History - Robert Lücking, Toby Spribille 2024. Not an identification guide but a nice exploration of the fascinating aspects of lichen biology. Recommended.
The Macrolichens of New England - James Hinds, Patricia Hinds 2007. This is the result of expanding the SFK to include all of New England, adding photos and species descriptions. Complete treatment of lichen basics as well as the technical keys. 2025 - Per phone conversation with NYBG bookstore, this title is no longer available.
Common Lichens Of Northeast North America - Troy McMullin & Francis Anderson 2014. A field guide that is well organized. Includes some crustose lichens. This appears to be out of print but a used copy is worth seeking.
Lichens of North America - Erwin Brodo, Stephen Sharnoff, Sylvia Sharnoff 2001. The award winning, required reference for the serious. It has superb photos and keys but is more technical than the Hinds' book. It includes the crustose lichens. Pricey.
Keys to Lichens of North America: Revised and Expanded - Erwin Brodo, Laurie-Bourque, Stephen Sharnoff, Sylvia Sharnoff 2016. This addition to the acclaimed reference to North American lichens (above) compiles updated and expanded keys.
Lichens Above Treeline - Ralph Pope 2005. If you traverse the high peaks this is very nice. It does include a number of boreal species. Nicely organized with good photos.
Urban Lichens: A Field Guide for Northeastern North America Paperback - Jessica L Allen and James C Lendemer 2021. This guide presents common urban lichens. Of interest to the more serious or those who rarely venture outside of urban areas.
Lichens - William Purvis 2000. An excellent overview of lichen biology with outstanding photographs. Minimal vocabulary with an emphasis on lichen uses and lots of examples of unique lichens world-wide. Getting hard to find and getting pricey. Try to find it in a local library and give it a read.
Lichens (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 86) - Gilbert Oliver 2014. Ebook available from Google Play & Amazon. Covers all the basics of lichen biology in a non-technical way.
Lichen Biology - Thomas Nash 2008. College level textbook by multiple authors.
Wikipedia - Lichens Nearly always a great place to start any search. This does have a southern hemisphere tilt to it but is still great.
Evergreen State College Lichen Glossary Helpful little self explanatory site.
Lichen Photos. Website by the photographers for Lichens of North America. LOTS of excellent photos of hundreds of species.
Ohio Moss & Lichen Association. An active group with a good website. Lichens 101 is a straight forward intro. Check out the Lichen Photos link.
Mushroom Observer. A site devoted to fungus (and relatives like lichens). Another good place to verify tentative IDs, or look up a known species. Uses scientific names. Lots of photos.
Ways Of Enlichenment. Pictures and info about lichens in the NW United States. Many photos of species that occur in the east.
Twelve Readings on Lichens Interesting individual PDFs from the Ways of EnLichenment site above.
Lichens Checklist Lichen names change hence there are many synonyms. The "official list" is online and maintained by Dr Ted Esslinger. "Cumulative Checklist for the Lichen-forming, Lichenicolous and Allied Fungi of the Continental United States and Canada". Also published at Opuscula Philolichenum - search for "cumulative checklist".
American Brylogical and Lichenological Society. Access to their 2 technical journals and other resources.
Consortium of North American Lichen Herbaria A website dedicated to records of lichens in herbaria.
International Association for Lichenology International organization's website with some useful resources.
The British Lichen Society. A nice site with plenty of lichen info. The "About Lichens" pages give all the basics with a European twist on lichenology.
Cemetery Lichens A nice introduction to lichens extracted from "Friends of Farlow Newsletter" 2009.
Identifying Lichens of Nova Scotia A limited guide with a key and about 20 full page species descriptions of Nova Scotia lichens. All are found in parts of New England.
Identifying Mixed Hardwood Forest Lichens A Canadian publication with a key and full pages descriptions of 20 foliose lichens.
Lichen Identification Guide A two page poster explaining the basics of lichens used for air pollution monitoring.
West Virginia Likin Lichens A nice 1 page poster of lichen basics taken from "West Virginia Wildlife" magazine 2008.
Ohio State University Lichen Fact Sheet A simple 3 pager on lichen basics.
Lichens Two Lives in One A nice lichen primer from "Minnesota Conservation Volunteer" magazine.
Common Lichens of Ohio Field Guide (large download) An excellent publication with species descriptions of Ohio lichens most of which are found in New England. Request a printed copy for free from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources by phone.
The Lichens of Fundy National Park, New Brunswick, Canada - Gowen & Brodo, The Bryologist 91(4), 1988, pp. 255-325. A solid, technical, comprehensive key to lichens in the Northeast. You can create a free account on JSTOR (http://about.jstor.org/rr) and view the article for free or download the 73 page pdf for $10. Nomenclature has changed since publication but still a pretty comprehensive technical key for all northeast lichens including crusts.
Errors or improvements? Email Jeff at info@DigitalNaturalist.info.
last updated 2025-Oct-01