Umbilicaria phaea

Umbilicaria phaea
Umbilicaria phaea is the lichen on the right
Secure
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Umbilicariales
Family: Umbilicariaceae
Genus: Umbilicaria
Species:
U. phaea
Binomial name
Umbilicaria phaea
Tuck. (1869)

Umbilicaria phaea is a brown, umbilicate foliose lichen that grows up to 6 cm (2.4 in) in diameter, sometimes in colonies covering large patches of desert rocks.[2]: 127  [3] One variety that grows in northern California is brilliant red.[2] It is monophyllous with a single 1 – 5 cm flattish leaf-like cap on top of an anchoring stem (umbilicate).[3] The leaflike top is smooth with some lobes, roughly circular, thin, and brittle.[3] The lower surface is light gray to light brown.[3] It has up to 2.5 mm black circular to slightly polygonal spots that are the fruiting bodies (apothecia), slightly sunken into the main nonfruiting body part (thallus).[3] It grows on siliceous boulders in very dry climates of western North and South America, where it is usually the most common member of its genus.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ NatureServe. "Umbilicaria phaea". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-19500-2
  3. ^ a b c d e f Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 2, Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bugartz, F., (eds.) 2001, [1]