Josselyn Botanical Society 



31 



Notes on Some Interesting Maine Lichens. 



By George K. Merrill. 



The following is a brief account of the notable lichens 

 coming under my notice and forming part of the material 

 collected at the Waterville, Wells and Kingfield meetings of 

 the Josselyn Botanical Society. 



Although it was anticipated that the calciferous slates of 

 Waterville might bear some novel or interesting lichens, my 

 search was nearly fruitless. Only one noteworthy lichen was 

 found. Growing on naked rocks just above the then water 

 level of the Kennebec River was found a plant at first taken 

 for Lecayiora polytropa, later considered to be Leca?wra saxi- 

 cola dispersa, and finally on microscopical examination defi- 

 nitely placed with Bias tenia rupestris (Scop.) Zahl. This 

 species, called by Tuckerman Placodiutn rupestre, is a dis- 

 tinctly calcophilous thing, and is not often collected. It has 

 not been found on the lime rocks of Knox County, and has 

 only been sent to me in material from Vermont. The species 

 is cited in Tuckerman 's Synopsis from Vermont, New York, 

 Georgia and Alabama, but is not hitherto recorded from 

 Maine. The total of the lichens collected or examined from 

 Waterville is much the same as the aggregate found at the 

 Gardiner and Brunswick meetings, or about one hundred and 

 twenty-five numbers. This appears to be the maximum that 

 one may find in two or three half days of desultory search. 



Active exploration in Wells and vicinity proved rather 

 disappointing. On a roadside ledge below Ogunquit was 

 found a small specimen of Stereocaulon coralloides (Schreb.) 

 Fr. This species, not infrequent in mountainous districts, is 

 entirely out of range where found. Another interesting find 

 was Cetraria Fendleri Tuck., growing on the rough bark of 

 old spruces. This is the second station for Maine, the plant 

 having been taken in Knox County some years ago. The 

 latter station extends the known range of the species along 

 the Atlantic seaboard about one hundred and fifty miles. 

 Cetraria juniperina (L.), taken at the Wells meeting, was 



