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Description:
The thallus of orange foliose bark lichen is light to dark orange, forming rounded tufts up to 7 cm in width. The branches are partly angular, but basically terete. The branches are approximately 0.2 to 0.5 mm in width terminating in long fine, occasionally reddened cilia. Pale raised pseudocyphellae are often present, but they lack soredia or isidia (Brodo et. al. 2001). Orange foliose bark lichen has flattened to slightly rounded branches. Spines are rare on the apothecia. Orange foliose bark lichen is non-sorediate and has apothecia which is a cup shaped system producing ascospores (Derr et. al. 2003). The apothecia are scattered along the branches and are 0.8 to 3.0 mm in diamter with thin non-ciliate margins (Brodo et. al. 2001).
Habitat:
In Georgia, Orange foliose bark lichen is found in relict Black Belt prairies growing on bark, especially on stunted trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans) and on roughleaf dogwood (Cornus drummondii) in thickets within and along the edges of the Black Belt prairies (GNHP, 2003). The above images were taken at a Black Belt prairie in Houston County, Georgia. The lichen identification was made by Tom Patrick of the Georgia Natural Heritage Program.
Range:
In California, Orange foliose bark lichen has historically been collected in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Channel Islands but is now very rare (Derr et. al. 2003). The lichen has also been reported to occur in southwestern and southern Texas, throughout Louisiana, southern Arkansas, western Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama and into Georgia (NatureServe 2003 and Brodo et. al. 2001). In Georgia, the species is found on small woody shrubs along the edge of blackbelt prairies in central portion of the state.
References
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