Crumpled Rag Lichen

The upper thallus of P. tuckermanii is ashy-white to gray, sometimes greenish, often brown at edges. It has broad, loosely attached, narrowly branched, rounded lobes with an irregularly or reticulately pitted surface. The lower surface is white to slightly tan, with well-defined patches becoming black to dark brown. It is minutely and reticulately pitted, sometimes mottled in appearance, but not punctate. Occasional pseudocyphellae may be present on the upper surface. Platismatia tuckermanii has few rhizines, which are black at the center and pale or tipped with white at the margin. It reproduces primarily through sexual means. Its apothecia (fruiting bodies) are shiny red-brown, marginal or submarginal, broad, and usually perforate. Chemical analysis has revealed that P. tuckermanii contains caperatic acid and atranorin as lichen products.

Platismatia tuckermanii is endemic to Eastern North America. It is found in Canada and the Southeastern United States. Although usually encountered growing on conifer bark, it is also known to grow on old wooden fenceposts.

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