Acarospora elevata
| Acarospora elevata | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Acarosporales |
| Family: | Acarosporaceae |
| Genus: | Acarospora |
| Species: | A. elevata |
| Binomial name | |
| Acarospora elevata H.Magn. (1929) | |
Acarospora elevata (mountain cobblestone lichen) is a shiny dark reddish brown to dark brown verrucose to aereolate crustose lichen that grows up to 3 cm (1.2 in) wide on granite in central and southern California to Baja California, and high elevations in the Rocky Mountains.[1]:216–217[2] It is usually only found above 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) because it is eaten by red mites at lower elevations.[1]:216–217[2] In the Californias, it is mostly found at high elevations (hence "elevata"), but sometimes in coastal locations where it is less glossy.[2] It grows in full sun, mostly on hard granite, but sometimes other igneous or carbonate rock, from 500 to 3,350 metres (1,640 to 10,990 ft) in elevation.[2] It may start by growing on members of the Aspicilia genus, or other such pioneer species on hard rocks.[2]
There are typically between zero and four apothecia on each areola or wart, with dark red or black, rough surfaced, flat to concave discs without a dusty looking surface pruina.[2] The asci are thicker at the top than at the base (clavate).[2]
Lichen spot test are all negative, and it is UV- under ultraviolet light.[2] It may be identical with type of Acarospora nitida.[2] The lower-elevation forms were originally called Thelocarpon albomarginatum and A. washingtonensis.[2]
Acarospora is in the family Acarosporaceae. A. elevata was first described scientifically by lichenologist Adolf Hugo Magnusson in 1929.[3]
References
- 1 2 Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-19500-2
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 3., Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bugartz, F., (eds.) 2001,
- ↑ Magnusson AH. (1929). "A monograph of the genus Acarospora". Kongliga Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlinger 7 (4 (III)): 179.