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Parmelia meiophora
Parmelia meiophora is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Described from collections made in Yunnan, China in 1889, this lichen is known from high-elevation cloud forests in southwestern China, where it grows on tree bark at elevations of roughly 3,000–4,000 metres; it has also been recorded from Nepal. The species forms loosely attached, greenish-grey rosette-shaped growths 8–15 cm across, characterized by a shiny surface covered with numerous tiny projections (isidia) and very small pale pores. It is distinguished by its strongly branched root-like structures on the black undersurface and its chemistry, which produces distinctive colour reactions when tested with potassium hydroxide solution: the cortex turns weakly yellow while the interior changes from yellow to red.
From the article Parmelia meiophora on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
Parmelia meiophora forms a loosely attached, firm foliose thallus on bark, coloured greenish mineral grey (often browning in the herbarium) and 8–15 cm across. Lobes are somewhat irregular, closely contiguous to overlapping, 3–5 mm wide. The upper surface is shiny and flat, becoming finely cracked with age, and carries numerous very small pale pores (pseudocyphellae) 0.2–0.3 mm long. The thallus is distinctly isidiate: the isidia are short, wart-like (bullate), about 0.1 mm thick and 0.1–0.2 mm tall, unbranched, and their tips often darken. The underside is black and densely rhizinate; the rhizines are plentiful and strongly squarrosely branched (spreading at right angles), 1–2 mm long. Fruiting bodies are rare. Apothecia, when present, are adnate and 3–5 mm in diameter; the hymenium is 55–60 micrometres (μm) tall and ascospores measure 5–6 × 7–8 μm with an epispore about 1 μm thick. Pycnidia have not been seen. Chemically, the species contains atranorin, salazinic acid, and consalazinic acid.
Range & habitat
Parmelia meiophora is known from south-western China, with confirmed collections from Yunnan. It grows on tree bark in mountainous cloud forests, especially where conifers and Rhododendron dominate. The species appears to be a high-elevation lichen, occurring at roughly 3,000–4,000 m. In Nepal, P. meiophora has been reported from 1,800 to 3,350 m elevation in a compilation of published records.
== References ==
Wikipedia: “Habitat and distribution”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
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Every page naming Parmelia meiophora in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 977444.