Description ²

 Thallus: erect to suberect, up to 6 (-8) cm broad; texture: cartilaginous; branching: isotomic dichotomous; budding: absent or rare; lobes: separate to centrally subcontiguous, 1-3 (-4) mm broad; black border: not visible from above; profile: even; width/height ratio: 0.5-2; tips and axils: entire,; upper surface: white to greenish gray, sometimes dark mottled, becoming rugose; soredia: terminal, in capitate soralia; isidia and lobules absent; medulla: hollow, ceiling of cavity white or dark, floor of cavity white or dark; lower surface: black, sparsely perforate; Apothecia: rare, substipitate, up to 2 mm in diam; stipe: urn- or funnel-shaped, loosely filled with hyphae; disc: brown; ascospores: subglobose, 6-7 x 5-5.5 µm; Pycnidia: sparse; conidia: not seen in local material; Spot tests: cortex K+ yellow, C-, KC-, P+ pale yellow, UV-; medulla K-, C-, KC+ orange-red, P-, UV-; Secondary metabolites: upper cortex with atranorin and chloroatranorin; medulla with physodic acid (major), 3-hydroxyphysodic acid (major), 2'-O-methylphysodic acid (accessory, frequency about 50%).; Substrate and ecology: typically on bark or wood, including conifers and deciduous trees, rarely on mossy rock or alpine sod; World distribution: circumboreal, montane, and cool temperate areas; northern Asia, North America, and Europe; in North America south to southern California and central Rocky Mountains; Sonoran distribution: southern California and Guadalupe Island in Baja California.; Notes: Much more common northward, the species is easily distinguished by its suberect to erect lobes with soredia coating the tips. Young, pre-sorediate specimens might be confused with H. imshaugii, but that species has pure white lobe interiors and only rarely contains 3-hydroxyphysodic acid. Hypogymnia bitteri has terminal soralia but an appressed, rosette-like thallus with contiguous lobes and often an overall brownish color. 

Sources and Credits

1. (c) CALS, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by CALS
2. (c) Lichen Unlimited: Arizona State University, Tempe., some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/10547620

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
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