False Pixie Cup

Description:

These pretty little lichen were growing on a moss covered granite rock within Wistmans Wood

Habitat:

Wistman's Wood is one of three remote copses[1] of stunted oaks on Dartmoor, Devon, England. It lies at an altitude of between 380–420 metres in the valley of the West Dart River near Two Bridges, at grid reference SX613770. Wistman's Wood is a rare relict example of the ancient high-level woodlands of Dartmoor, and because of this it has been a Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1964,[2] and is an NCR site. Its name probably derives from Wisht-man's wood, the vernacular word wisht meaning pixie-led or haunted.[3] The wood consists mainly of stunted pedunculate oak trees that grow from between moss-covered boulders and are festooned with epiphytic mosses, lichens and ferns. There are also some rowan, holly and willow trees. Over the centuries the wood has changed considerably. In 1620 Tristram Risdon wrote that the trees were "no taller than a man may touch to top with his head".[3] In 1912 a geological survey party tried to walk the wood but gave up due to the dense vegetation. In the early 1970s the trees were reported as being very distorted and on average 10 ft high, with occasional specimens over 25 ft.[4] - Wiki