Pleopsidium flavum (gold cobblestone lichen)[1]: 27 is a distinctively colored, bright lemon-yellow to chartreuse[2] crustose lichen that grows in high elevations (montane to alpine) on vertical or overhanging hard felsic rock (e.g. granite) [3] in western North America.[4]: 186 Its thallus grows in a circular outwardly radiating pattern (placodioid), with 1mm wide lobed edges.[4]: 186 This is the identity of the vivid, lime-green lichens often photographed on granite boulders in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge of Oklahoma.[3] According to Prof. Wayne Armstrong of Mount Palomar College, This lichen only grows "a few millimeters" per century.,[5] making it the slowest growing of all known plants (sensu lato).
| Pleopsidium flavum | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pleopsidium flavum | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Acarosporales |
| Family: | Acarosporaceae |
| Genus: | Pleopsidium |
| Species: | P. flavum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pleopsidium flavum (Bellardi) Körb.
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Acarospora chlorophana | |
It was formerly classified as Acarospora chlorophana.[4]: 186 It is in the Pleopsidium genus of the Acarosporaceae family.
It is similar to Acarospora schleicheri, which grows on soil (terricolous lichen) and rarely on rock, and to Pleopsidium chlorophanum, which favors dry arctic or alpine sandstone cliffs and boulders.[4]: 186
References
edit- ^ The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada, John Muir Laws , 2007
- ^ Crustose Rock Lichens, Wayne P. Armstrong, Wayne's World online textbook of natural history, [1]
- ^ a b Strawn, Sheila (2017). Lichen Study Guide for Oklahoma and Surrounding States (1 ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Botanical Research Institute of Texas. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-889878-55-3.
- ^ a b c d Mosses Lichens & Ferns of Northwest North America, Dale H. Vitt, Janet E. marsh, Robin B. Bovey, Lone Pine Publishing Company, ISBN 0-295-96666-1
- ^ Armstrong, Prof. Wayne (December 1997). "Desert Varnish and Lichen Crust". Retrieved April 4, 2001.
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