A photographic field guide to the lichens commonly found in the southeastern uplands of the United States Lichens are plantlike organisms that grow on virtually any surface, from rocks and trees to wooden fences and granite markers. Formed from the symbiotic cooperation of fungi and algae, they are unlike anything else in the natural world, serving as environmental sentinels and exhibiting an array of beautiful colors. This richly illustrated field guide dispenses with jargon-heavy and overly generalized technical descriptions to focus instead on the unique regionally specific ecologies and distributions of species and their visible characters. Ideal for beginners and experts alike, Common Lichens of the Upland Southeast enables anyone with a hand lens to identify practically any species encountered in the backyard, on hikes in the wilderness, and wherever lichens can be found in this richly biodiverse region of North America. Presents a new and simplified way to identify the key features of lichens - Describes 381 species, including many never before included in a field guide - Features hundreds of high-quality color in situ macro photos - Covers the mountains and hills of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia as well as the nearby hills of Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania - Includes detailed discussions of natural communities, ecology, appearance, and comparable species - Draws on Lendemer and Hollinger’s decades of experience to address the difficulties and confusion commonly encountered when identifying individual species in the wild James Lendemer is a lichenologist who has curated internationally recognized natural history collections, collaborates with artists and cultural institutions across the United States, and is the coauthor of Urban Lichens: A Field Guide for Northeastern North America . Jason P. Hollinger is a lichenologist and photographer whose images have appeared in dozens of books and field guides.