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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: Maritime forest, mesic hardwood forest, mixed woodlands

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Description

Whitish or gray thallus with sparse to crowded lirellae; lirellae up to 2 mm long, occasionally branched, broken by occasional dark crosswise fissures, with granular brown disks, variably pruinose; black labia even with disks & partially obscured by thalline covering; character of lirellae dependent on substrate, from straight & unbranched on wood to sinuous & branching on rough bark; MICROSCOPY: margin carbonized at apex, spores colorless, 5-8-celled, about 16-21 x 4-5 µm, cells cylindrical, filling spore to cell wall (not lens-shaped), spores thicker toward 1 end; FIELD ID: requires dissection to distinguish from lookalikes, especially given variability of thallus

Similar Species

This species resembles no other Opegraphaceae in Ga., but it does superficially resemble Graphis scripta, Phaeographis inusta & Leiorreuma explicans (see those species profiles for differences in spores & disk morphology)

Related Rare Species

None

Habitat

Maritime forest, mesic hardwood forest, mixed woodlands, mostly on Quercus bark; also seen on Carya, Nyssa, Ostrya

Life History

Corticolous crustose lichenized fungus, photobiont an alga in Trentepohlia

Survey Recommendations

None

Range

Coastal Plain; rare disjunct in Piedmont

Threats

Unknown

Georgia Conservation Status

Rare to occasional

Conservation Management Recommendations

None

References

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

Brodo, I. M. 2016. Keys to lichens of North America: revised and expanded. 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.

Harris, R. C. 1995. More Florida lichens including the 10-cent tour of the pyrenolichens. Unpublished manuscript, Bronx, N.Y.

Authors of Account

Malcolm Hodges

Date Compiled or Updated

29 August 2022