This page links to 17 index pages: 16 of them provide links to photos of identified lichens, including those that are identified to genus but not to species. It also links to an index page providing access to about 300 "mystery" lichens that are completely unidentified, and a page that links to topics in lichen natural history. There are about 6,300 photos on the site, illustrating approximately 1,250 species. Most of the photos were taken for the book, Lichens of North America, with text by Dr. Irwin Brodo, published in 2001 by Yale University Press. There are two photos by others. Almost all are from the continental U.S. and Canada, but there are some from Baja California, Mexico, and a few from southern France.

Most of the identifications for the photos were made by Dr. Brodo from voucher specimens that Sylvia and I collected between 1973 and 1998. A smaller number of images were taken by me between 1999 and 2007 and were identified by a number of other lichenologists, including Mariette Cole, Theodore Esslinger, Thomas H. Nash III, Trevor Goward, Roger Rosentreter, Bruce McCune, Stephen Clayden and others. Enormous thanks are due to all who helped! I have attempted to keep the names current with the North American Checklist by Esslinger and Egan, and with other recent sources such as the Sonoran Desert Flora. For the sake of simplicity I have not italicized the scientific names. In particular, we owe more than I can express to Ernie Brodo, without whose generosity, energy, and steadfastness our project with lichens would have never developed beyond a passing fancy.

I am making corrections to the names and information on the site on an ongoing basis, and adding additional photos from my archives. Most recent revision, with 150 photos added: June 27, 2009.

For an informational site about lichens, go to Lichens of North America