THE LICHEN FLORA OF THE SANTA CRUZ PENINSULA 183 



18. LECANORA SYMMICTA Ach. 



Lecanora symmicta Ach. Synopsis, 340. 1814. 



Lecanora varia d. symmicta Tuck. Syn. N. Am. Lich. I: 192. 1882. 



Thallus thin or very thin and scanty, effuse, of minute granules, 

 or forming a minute, rough crust; pale yellow or greenish yellow; 

 KOH yellow; CaCl 2 O 2 orange or orange-red. 



Apothecia small, at first flat, with thin, entire, or denticulate mar- 

 gin; soon convex, the margin disappearing; often crowded and angu- 

 lose, sometimes heaped, usually obscuring the thallus; color pale yel- 

 low, brownish yellow, or darkening somewhat; paraphyses slender, 

 free, their tips slightly enlarged; thecium blue with I; spores ellip- 

 soid or oblong, _ . . 

 o o 



Abundant on old fences about the salt marshes and in the valleys 

 and foothills; also occurring on bark of trees. Common throughout 

 the temperate region. 



Distinguished from Lecanora varia, which it much resembles, by 

 the reaction with CaCl 2 O 2 , and by the biatorine apothecia. 



SECTION ASPICILIA (Mass.) Th. Fr. 



Thallus uniform crustaceous, upper cortical layer more or less 

 developed; apothecia permanently innate, the disk deeply concave 

 to plane; paraphyses mostly lax, septate. 



19. LECANORA ALPINA Sommerf. 



Lecanora alpina Sommerfeldt, Suppl. Fl. Lapp. 94. 1826. 

 Lecanora alpina Th. Fries, Lich. Scand. i: 283. 1871. 



Thallus of minute areoles with rough uneven surface, separated by 

 deep, relatively wide fissures; from dark ashy gray merging into 

 cream, or reddish gray at the margin; KOH yellow, then a perma- 

 nent brick-red; CaCl 2 O 2 ; medulla more or less blue with I. 



Apothecia numerous, small or minute, one or sometimes two or 

 three in an areole; at first innate, with concave disk, soon emergent 

 and plane or even elevated; color jet-black when dry; more or less 

 reddish black when wet; thalline margin entire, at last excluded; the- 



