#Coral Firedot Lichen

[lichenaday]

Blastenia herbidella (syn. Caloplaca herbidella)

Geranium firedot lichen

Taxonomy is hard, OK? We have debates about taxonomy in my lab group on our key studies species, so it does not surprise me that lichens that get way less attention like B. herbidella have 2 names that haven't been resolved yet. This crustose lichen has a pale gray or yellowish-white thallus covered in gray, cylindrical or coral-like isidia. It has orange or red-orange apothecia with an incised or rounded, raised margin. Just as the name is unsettled, the distribution of B. herbidella is debatable as this and a lot of its cohorts are difficult to tell apart. It might be a strictly Mediterranean-European species, or a more evenly distributed species throughout Europe, or even northern hemispheric, but more study and surveys are needed. It grows on bark near the basal trunks of trees and shrubs, seeming to prefer older trees in unpolluted areas.

images: source | source

info: source | source | source

[calochortus]

Caloplaca coralloides by Ken-ichi on Flickr.