Lichen: Lecidella eleachroma f. eleachroma
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Lecidella eleachroma f. eleachroma growing typically on a twig. Note the regular round apothecia.
Name: Lecidella eleachroma f. eleachroma
Pronunciation: Lecidella eleachroma
Conservation Evaluation: Least Concern Body Type: Crustose
Lecidella eleachroma f. eleachroma, note the distinctive black prothallus.
General Description: The thallus is a creamy yellow to yellow-grey colour and smooth in texture. In shaded areas it takes on a green colour. The prothallus is darker than the thallus, tending towards black. It can form mosaic-like patterns along branches.
Apothecia are small, rarely growing larger than 1 mm diameter. When young they are immersed in the thallus but later emerge. They are regularly round with a flat or convex disc. Similar to the thallus, the apothecia take on a different range of colours in shaded or exposed habitats; in shaded areas they are dark blue , brown-red or even piebald, in well lit areas the apothecia are black. Ascospores are about 12 µm by 8 µm.
Chemical Tests: K +(yellow), KC +(yellow), C +(very light orange), UV +(blue).
Nature Notes: Moderately tolerant of air pollution. Difficult to identify because of the variation in colour of both the thallus and apothecia. A section of the apothecium is recommended for complete accuracy.
Vice County distribution map of Acarospora fuscata: See Map
Link: Map this species on the Lichen Survey
Other species recorded in Ireland
- Lecidella anomaloides (A.Massal.) Hertel & H.Kilias
- Lecidella asema (Nyl.) Knoph & Hertel
- Lecidella carpathica Körb.
- Lecidella elaeochroma (Ach.) M.Choisy [21]
- Lecidella elaeochroma forma soralifera (Erichsen) D.Hawksw.
- Lecidella meiococca (Nyl.) Leuckert & Hertel
- Lecidella scabra (Taylor) Hertel & Leuckert
- Lecidella stigmatea (Ach.) Hertel & Leuckert
- Lecidella viridans (Flot.) Körb.
Text and images © Paul Whelan, 2009.