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Family: Parmeliaceae
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MB# 563095 TYPE. CANADA. British Columbia. Clearwater Valley, Spahats Creek, north face of Raft Mtn, 51°44' N, 119°51' W, windswept pass on branch of Picea, 2200 m, 20.VIII.2009, T. Goward 09-696 & J. Hollinger (UBC, holotype; CANL, GZU, Hm isotypes). Description. Life form: lichenized fungus. [Modified from Goward et al. 2012]. Thallus closely appressed, moderately variable, up to 5–6 (–8) cm across; lobes irregularly branched. First-tier lobes up to 2.0–3.0 (–3.5) mm wide, mostly contiguous, obscuring the substrate, at the tips weakly plane to concave in cross-section, inwards becoming convex. Second-tier lobes closely appressed, not trailing, occasionally bearing apical and/or subapical soralopodia (see below), older thallus portions usually massing into low, side-on ridges and intervening depressions, usually perforate (see below). Upper surface pale pastel green in sheltered sites, otherwise usually distinctly two-toned, i.e., chestnut brown in distal portions, grading to whitish inwards, shiny at thallus periphery, usually becoming dull toward thallus centre, firm except thin and fragile over rugulae (see below), sometimes with sparse transverse stress cracks, irregularly flecked with black mottling, also usually with conspicuous black borders as seen from above; usually sorediate. Vegetative propagules mostly restricted to secondtier lobes, arising in two ontological contexts: (1) apical and/or subapical soralopodia, these at most sparse, inconspicuous, capitate to mound-forming, in the latter case up to 0.4–0.5 (–0.7) mm across and 0.2–0.3 mm high, dissolving above into sorediabearing soralia; and (2) laminal rugulae (and verrucae), these sparse to copious on lobe ridges, absent in intervening depressions, sometimes replaced by blocky, closely packed glebulae, at lengthdissolving above into diffuse soredia up to 30–40 mm across. Perforations sparse to many on upright lateral outgrowths of second-tier lobes, apparently lacking on lower surface of first-tier lobes, the opening usually . 0.2 mm across. Medullary ceiling white except darkening in vicinity of old ruptures in the lower surface. Lower surface mostly black, shiny, thin, easily torn, sharply winkled or folded. Apothecia rare, laminal, short stalked; disc concave, pale brown to dark brown, the largest ones 2–3 mm across, usually aborting. Ascospores ellipsoid, at maturity up to 6.0–6.2 3 4.0–4.2 mm. Pycnidia absent or sparse over upper surface; conidiospores dumbbell-shaped, 4.2–5.5 3 0.8–1.0 mm. Chemistry. Spot tests: cortex K+ yellow, KC-, C-, PD-; medulla K- (except often K+ pink after 30 minutes!), KC + pink, C-, PD-. Lichen substances: Atranorin (cortex), physodic acid major, constant), 3-hydroxyphysodic (submajor, present in most specimens), and 29-Omethylphysodic (often trace, present in about half the specimens), vittatolic acid present or usually absent. Apinnatic acid present in 75% of samples studied. Substate and habitat. Primarily corticolous on conifers, sometimes saxicolous; frequently occuring on acidic substrates apparently not subject to nutrient enrichment. Distribution. Western North America (Canada and United States), most common in boreal and oroboreal regions, ranging from Alaska and the Yukon south at least to southern British Columbia. |