Lobaria pulmonaria is a lichen in which the photobiont (aka 'the prisoner') is a nitrogen fixer and they are a major source of nitrogen for forest plants, including the trees they grow on. This is the only location where I have found the species, although I understand it is more frequent in southwest Ireland.
Lobaria virens is even scarcer in Ards than its close relative: in fact I know of only one tree which hosts it.
You have to go the oldest and cleanest forests to find these lichens: they are extremely sensitive to disturbance and pollution.
