Another (beautiful) but unknown… ID help please

[Deborah]

This was taken yesterday. Inland. Rocky valley. Very damp nearly always.

On granite. I was struck by the colour combination of pale sky blue and cream. It looked distinctive but I’m unable to get anywhere with the reference material I have.

Any help much appreciated.

[Neil Sanderson]

Deborah

It looks like some sort of Parmelia saxatilis s. lat. to me, but I would need a closer photo to be sure (does it have at least some isidia?). This lichen is being constantly being split into more and more obscure cryptic species by the phylogeneticists. These are all somewhat different in macro characters but the characters overlap so the cryptic species really are cryptic and are basically impossible to identify and best ignored for the moment, but they do account for the variability in Parmelia saxatilis s. lat. Better to just admire its beauty!

Neil

[Deborah]

Thank you!

That photo was as close as I got. I looked closer with my loupe and marvelled, but I wasn’t that sure what to be looking for😉. But your ID pointer is a real help.

[Paul Cannon]

Just to add that the cream parts of the thallus are dead, hopefully that doesn’t change your perspective! It could be just old age, but you often get tiny lichenicolous fungi as necrotrophs (these kill the thallus and eat the remains…)

Paul

[Deborah]

Thanks. That last bit of info really was a killer😉

[Author]

Posts