Dragon Cladonia

Description:

Primary thallus: squamulose, persistent; squamules: 2-6 mm long, 1-3 mm wide, deeply incised, narrow-lobed to coralloid; upper surface: light grayish-green; lower surface: white, esorediate, involute or flattened; podetia: (4-) 20-70 mm tall, greenish gray to dark brown, unbranched to much-branched; apices and axils: perforated; surface: esorediate; cortex: at base rarely continuous, breaking up above base and giving rise to abundant podetial squamules; squamules: subdigitately lobed, up to 6 mm long, upturned, imbricate, obscuring apical openings, sometimes appearing granulose; Apothecia: uncommon, pruinose, later brown, in groups around margins of openings, 2-3 mm diam; ascospores: oblong to ellipsoid, (5-) 7-17 x 3-5 micro meter; Pycnidia: on tips of podetia (rarely on basal squamules), barrel-shaped, slightly constricted at base, with pale red or hyaline gelatin; conidia: 3-8 x 0.5-1 micro meter; Spot tests: K- or K+ yellow, C-, KC- or KC+ yellow, P- or P+ yellow, UV+ ice blue or UV-; Secondary metabolites: two major chemotypes known: (1) squamatic acid (K-, P-) and (2) thamnolic acid (K and P+ yellow); both contain additional barbatic acid in apothecia, only the second is recorded in our region but the first is also expected

Habitat:

Found on a large rotting stump.