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British soldier lichen

Clodonia didyma

Description:

Primary thallus: squamulose, persistent; squamules: 1-2 x 1-1.5 (4) mm, crenate to irregularly crenulate to lobulate-laciniate, esorediate, with shiny upper side; podetia: up to 5 cm tall (usually much shorter), 1.0-1.5 mm wide, green to glaucescent, or brownish, subulate, without cups, unbranched to sparingly branched; surface: ecorticate to slightly corticate at base, esorediate (but sometimes granulose in part), microsquamulose; microsquamules: fragile, projecting downward, inner stereome translucent, pale to dark brown; Apothecia: fairly common, 0.5-4 mm wide, red; ascospores: fusiform, 10-13 x 5micro meter; Pycnidia: common, turbinate, short-stalked, with red gelatin; conidia: falciform, 5-7 x 1 micro meter; Spot tests: K- or K+ yellow, C- & KC- (or C+ & KC+ yellow if barbatic acid present), P- or P+ yellow, UV-; Secondary metabolites: thallus with two major chemotypes: (1) didymic and barbatic acids (rarely only one of them) or (2) didymic and thamnolic acids (rarely with accessory barbatic acid) with only the first one known in the Sonoran area; apothecial discs with rhodocladonic acid as a red pigment.-inaturalist.org

Habitat:

World distribution: Africa, Asia, Australasia, North America and South America; Sonoran distribution: only known from one location in the Sierra Madre Occidental region of Sinaloa. Growing on a huge old stump.

Notes:

This species is common further south in Mexico. It is very similar to C. macilenta (they may grow together!) but the latter species has farinose soredia, while C. didyma has rough microsquamules or granules and is not clearly sorediate.

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2 Comments

Brian38
Brian38 7 years ago

Thank you Machi I will look into those other possibilities.

Machi
Machi 7 years ago

I'd also reconsider calling this Cladonia cristatella. Though I wouldn't say it is definitely not Cladonia cristatella, I don't see any branching so I would look at Cladonia didyma, Cladonia floerkeana, and Cladonia ravenelii as well

Brian38
Spotted by
Brian38

Snoqualmie, Washington, USA

Spotted on Mar 14, 2017
Submitted on Mar 14, 2017

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