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Federal Protection: No US federal protection

State Protection: No Georgia state protection

Global Rank: G3G5

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: Rocky forests, shaded outcrops

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Description

Mostly endolithic thallus sometimes showing as a very thin, patchy film over rock (as in photo); flat to convex, often irregularly shaped apothecia black (sometimes reddish), with raised, radially cracked rims; MICROSCOPY: spores 8/ascus, ellipsoid, colorless, simple, hypothecium brown, spores relatively narrow, only 6-8 µm wide; FIELD ID possible with experience, but best confirmed with dissection to examine spores

Similar Species

Polysporina simplex can have cracked rims & relatively few carbonaceous inclusions in disk when young, but has polysporous asci

Related Rare Species

None

Habitat

Rocky forests, shaded outcrops, on silicious rock, especially boulders

Life History

Saxicolous crustose lichenized fungus, photobiont a green alga in Trebouxia

Survey Recommendations

None

Range

Mostly north of the Fall Line; rarely disjunct in Coastal Plain

Threats

Unknown

Georgia Conservation Status

Common in good habitat

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.

Authors of Account

Malcolm Hodges

Date Compiled or Updated

4 August 2022