Chrysothrix granulosa

Chrysothrix granulosa (Coastal gold dust lichen) is a brilliant yellow, powdery (leprose) lichen that grows in irregular patches mostly on bark (sometimes wood and rock) in shaded dry areas of coastal western North America and western South America.[1]:253–4[2]

Coastal gold dust lichen
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Subdivision:
Class:
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Family:
Chrysotrichaceae
Genus:
Species:
C. granulosa
Binomial name
Chrysothrix granulosa

In North America it is found from Mexico to as far north as British Columbia.[1] It can be found in coastal areas of California[1] near Santa Barbara County,[2] and coastal areas of the Sonoran Desert, mostly islands off Baja California.[2] In South America it is found from Chile to Peru.[2] It is found at elevations from sea-level to 400 metres (1,300 ft).[2]

The mostly structureless body (thallus) forms powdery cushions of lichen granules (soredia) over a fluffy middle layer (medulla).[1] The upper medulla is yellow fading to yellow-white in the lower part.[2] It lacks fruiting bodies (apothecia).[1] Fruiting bodies (apothecia are absent in populations in California and the Sonoran Desert, and elsewhere have a constricted base with 0.2 to 1 mm diameter brownish orange flat to convex discs.[2]

Lichen spot tests are K+ orange, C-, KC-, and P+ orange, with UV+ a dullish dark orange.[1] Secondary metabolites include calycin acid and diffractaic acid.[1]

References

  1. Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-19500-2
  2. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region, Vol 2, Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bugartz, F., (eds.), 2001


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