Recording downloads

To save one of the files below to your computer, either click to open it on your computer and then save it (or you may find that it saves it directly to your Downloads folder), or right-click and use "Save Link As" or "Save Target As".

BLS Spreadsheet

The BLS Spreadsheet (v7.14 2024) can be used for all habitats, including churchyards. It uses the taxon dictionary as it was in January 2024 so some of the names displayed back in the green columns may be unfamiliar, but you don't need to know these and can still enter the old names or the BLS numbers to the white columns as before. The spreadsheet will do the rest, so please do not type anything in to the green columns, if it fails to recognize what you have typed in we will sort that out as part of the import process.

This spreadsheet is designed to be used in modern versions of Excel and so is in .xlsx format, but it should also work in OpenOffice or under windows emulation. If you have an older or non-windows computer that won't run it please ask records@britishlichensociety.org.uk for a cut-down version. 

The Guidelines document includes help on using the spreadsheet and our substrate and scale habitat codes, and the handout from the training session run at Cober Hill in March 2019 may also be useful.

Old Recording Cards and Spreadsheets

Old cards and spreadsheets - these are here in case they are needed, but they are rarely used now and the species names are quite out of date. They include a General Recording Card, a Lobarion Project Recording Card, and for detailed churchyard recording there is a Churchyard Card and Spreadsheet. Churchyard and woodland recorders are encouraged to use the General spreadsheet instead, and to fill in the substrate and scale habitat codes as necessary.

Useful information

Sections of the third edition of the Lichens of Great Britain and Ireland (LGBI3) are being made available as they are published as PDFs on our website.

Useful information to assist with lichen identification and recording, including the Cladonia Key, a Skills List that may be useful to trainers, the Guide to Lichen Surveying and Report Writing (Hill, 2006) and Corrections to the 2nd edition of Lichens of Great Britain & Ireland (LGBI2).

'Corrections' lists simple errors in the 2nd edition of Lichens of Great Britain and Ireland (LGBI2), Smith et al. (2009). The complete table for the Verrucaria table is also available here. The 'Corrections, notes and observations' is a longer document, compiled by Mark Powell. All these were last updated in 2017, and any further corrections or additions should now be sent to Paul Cannon to be taken into account in the development of the 3rd Edition.