Family: Ramalinaceae Species: Bacidina caerulea Growth type crustose Photos: On Sambucus, Kilcolman, Co. Limerick, Ireland. Thallus pale grey to grey-green, granular, warted and sometimes slightly cracked. Apothecia flat becoming +/- convex, discs pale straw, blue-grey, blue-black or piebald, the exciple blue-green. Hypothecium pale yellowish, hymenium blue-green around top of paraphyses. Asci are 8-spored, the spores 3-7 septate (but usually 5-septate), 30-53 x 2-2.8 µm. Micrographs below. Usually on semi-shaded Sambucus nigra but also occurs on the bark of other deciduous trees Similar: Bacidina friesiana has pale yellowish or piebald apothecia, dark brown pigmentation in upper part of exciple and hymenium

Micrographs







Bacidina caerulea. December 2024