Irish lichens

Order: Lecanorales       Family: Parmeliaceae

Species: Protoparmelia badia var. cinerascens

Growth type crustose.
Photos: On coastal wall. Courtmacsherry, Cork, SW Ireland.
Identification uncertain, needs confirming or correcting

Very variable. Thallus +/- glossy, thin or coarsely warted, pale fawn to dark brown, rarely with a dark prothallus. Immersed or sessile apothecia are usually abundant, the discs glossy dark brown with paler crenulate or contorted margins. The asci are 8-spored, spores simple with pointed apices, 8-13 x 3-5 µm.

Well-lit hard, siliceous rocks in mountainous and coastal areas. Can tolerate some nutrient enrichment. Cortex KC+ pink (in section), UV+ white.

P. badia var. cinerascens has greyish rather than brown thallus





Courtmacsherry, March 2009

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