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Federal Protection: No US federal protection

State Protection: No Georgia state protection

Global Rank: GNR

State Rank: SNR

Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: No

SWAP 2015 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): No

SWAP 2025 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): No

2025 SGCN Priority Tier: None

Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 0

Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Mesic hardwood forest

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Description

Pale thallus with lirelliform apothecia visible as cracks or fissures in thallus; disks gray, pruinose; MICROSCOPY: tips of paraphyses bulbous, ornamented with minute bumps, spores colorless, transversely septate (not muriform), about 22-28 x 5.5-6 µm; CHEMISTRY: thallus K+ red, PD+ orange (norstictic acid); FIELD ID not possible; dissection & chemical tests required

Similar Species

Other Acanthothecis species have muriform spores or different chemistry

Related Rare Species

None

Habitat

Mesic hardwood forest, on hardwood bark

Life History

Corticolous lichenized fungus, photobiont an alga in genus Trentepohlia

Survey Recommendations

None

Range

Sparsely scattered in Coastal Plain

Threats

Harvesting old-growth hardwood forests & swamps

Georgia Conservation Status

Rare, possibly overlooked

Conservation Management Recommendations

Conserve Coastal Plain hardwood bluff forests

References

Brodo, I. M. 2001. Lichens of North America. Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn.

Esslinger, T. L. 2021. A cumulative checklist for the lichen-forming, lichenicolous and allied fungi of the continental United States and Canada. Version 24. Opuscula Philolichenum 20: 100-394.

Lendemer, J. C. 2010. Revised keys to the Graphidaceae in southeastern North America. Created for the 2010 Tuckerman Workshop, Augusta, Georgia. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, N.Y.

Lendemer, J. C. & R. C. Harris. 2014. Seven new species of Graphidaceae (Lichenized Ascomycetes) from the Coastal Plain of southeastern North America. Phytotaxa 189: 153-175.

Authors of Account

Sean Beeching & Malcolm Hodges

Date Compiled or Updated

27 February 2022