Ramalina menziesii

Ramalina menziesii, the lace lichen, is a pale yellowish-green to grayish-green foliose lichen that grows up to a meter long, hanging from bark and twigs in a distinctive net-like or lace-like pattern that is unlike any other lichen in North America.[1]: 192  It becomes a deeper green when wet.[1]: 192  Apothecia are lecanorine.[1]: 192  it is an important food source for deer in the Coast Range of California, and a source of nest material for birds.[1]: 192  It is highly variable in its growth form, with branches sometimes so slender as to appear like strands, sometimes tiny, and sometimes large with broadly flattened branches.[1]: 192 

Ramalina menziesii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Lecanorales
Family: Ramalinaceae
Genus: Ramalina
Species:
R. menziesii
Binomial name
Ramalina menziesii
Taylor (1847)

Lichen spot tests on the cortex are K−, C−, P− and KC+ (dark yellow).[1]: 192 

After years of effort, the California Lichen Society was able to convince the state legislature to recognize the lichen as the state lichen of California, the first lichen so honored.[2][3]

References
  1. Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-19500-2
  2. "California's State Lichen: Lace lichen (Ramalina menziesii)". The California Lichen Society. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  3. Gumbiner, Daniel (May 19, 2016), "The Ex-Anarchist Construction Worker Who Became a World-Renowned Scientist", The Atlantic, retrieved September 13, 2021


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.