33 



some of its forms could easily be mistaken for Usnea, in others 

 for Ramalina. Its stalks are typically about 1 mm. through, 

 irregularly angled, flattened and channeled, their tips ending in 

 more or less lengthened fibrils or threads. Found on trees in 

 swamps and bogs, but not often. The color varies from pale 

 greenish or grayish to yellow, a distinct yellow form with 

 rounded and longer branches called var . flavicans . 



When in fruit, there is no mistaking it, for the little disks, 

 up to 5 mm. across, are golden yellow to orange, and no similar 

 stalked lichen in the New York area is so colored. The rim may 

 be torn or toothed, or decorated with fibrils. The spores, 10 to 

 18 by 5 to 8 microns, show a peculiar polar structure, as in 

 other lichens with an orange tint, two cells, one in each end, 

 separated by a wide wall which occupies most of the center 

 of the spore, and through which runs a distinct longitudinal 

 line, a narrow tube connecting the cells. These spores are strik- 

 ingly different from those of other stalked lichens. 



Greenish gray forms can be confused with Ramalina or 

 Usnea unless fruits are present. Unlike Ramalina, the tips often 

 end in fibrils. Unlike Usnea, the stalks are usually more or less 

 flattened. And there is usually a tinge of yellow present to 

 distinguish it from either. So rare is this species in the north, 

 that there is little likelihood of finding it at all. 



Ramalina calicaris (L.). Twig Lichen • 



Of all the larger stalked lichens which grow on trees, Rama- 

 lina is the commonest and most generally distributed. It can be 

 looked for on the trunks, branches and twigs of trees and bushes 

 along the seashore, in sw^amps and bogs inland, and on all the 

 higher mountains. Its greenish or grayish tufts commonly range 

 from 1 to 5 cm. or more in height and spread, and may be 

 dense or straggling. The stalks may be nearly round, or var- 

 iously flattened, angled, channeled or veined. The main stalks, 

 typically 1 to 3 mm. across, may be found considerably wider 

 in flattened forms. Once seen it is not easily confused with any 

 other lichen except Evernia prunaslri and Teloschistes chrysoph- 

 thalmus. 



In R. calicaris and its subspecies, the fruits are at first neatly 

 rounded cups with a smooth rim, but later the center may swell 

 up and cover the rim. The disk is faintly colored, usually a shade 



