Common Green Shield

Description:

I found this lichen at the edge of the woods in the winter.

Notes:

I come from Massabesic Middle School and my science class is trying to identify every species on campus. We were searching for lichen and we went out on January 18th, 2012. There was 15 centimeters of snow on the ground and it was 3 Degrees Celsius. There were winds of 41.8 kilometers per hour. I found it on an alive tree at the edge of the woods. The thallus is green and fruticose. I think it is Green Shield lichen. The scientific name for Green Shield lichen is Flavoparmelia caperata lichen. The latitude and the longitude of the location of where I found the lichen is 43.582304 and the longitude is -70.701669. I think it is Green Shield lichen because Green Shield lichen not only looks the same but Green Shield lichen is native and common in Maine. They also share same characteristics such as shape and texture. The kingdom of the lichen is fungi, the division is ascomycota, the class is lecanoromycetes, the order is lecanorales, the family is parmeliaceae, the genus is flavoparmelia, and the species is F. Caperata. The sites I used were http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavoparmel... and http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symb...