morrak:lichenaday:Tephromela atraT. atra is crustose, with irregular areoles and a cracked, popcorny
morrak:lichenaday:Tephromela atraT. atra is crustose, with irregular areoles and a cracked, popcorny surface. It is another one of those classic grayish-white crustose lichens with black apothecial disks. The apothecia have a white crenulate, lecanorine margin, and the disks are shiny and slightly concave. This pal has two subspecies T. atra var. calcarea which grows on rock, and and T. atra var. torilosa which grows on smooth bark. It is a pretty common and wide-spread species, but is noted for growing close to coastlines in the “splash zone” of waves where many lichens dare not tread. It is similar in appearance to Lecanora gangaleoides, which has a slightly greenish-tinged thallus, and a smooth margin around the apothecia to differentiate it by sight. I complain a lot about lichens not being well studied, but this particular species has been well-documented due to its cosmopolitan growth habits and durability. Just another example of the amazing adaptive potential of lichens: the ultimate survivors (™)(™)(™)source | source | source | source | source | source | source@elucubrare -- source link