''Chrysothrix granulosa'', the coastal gold dust lichen, is a brilliant yellow, powdery (
leprose)
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.[North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...]
and western
South America.
[Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, ][Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region, Vol 2, Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bugartz, F., (eds.), 200]
/ref>
In North America it is found from Mexico to as far north as British Columbia.[ It can be found in coastal areas of California][ near Santa Barbara County,][ and coastal areas of the Sonoran Desert, mostly islands off Baja California.][ In South America it is found from Chile to Peru.][ It is found at elevations from sea-level to .][
The mostly structureless body ( thallus) forms powdery cushions of lichen granules ( soredia) over a fluffy middle layer ( medulla).][ The upper medulla is yellow fading to yellow-white in the lower part.][ It lacks fruiting bodies ( apothecia).][ Fruiting bodies ( apothecia are absent in populations in California and the Sonoran Desert, and elsewhere have a constricted base with 0.2 to 1 mm diameter brownish orange flat to convex discs.][
]Lichen spot test
A spot test in lichenology is a spot analysis used to help identify lichens. It is performed by placing a drop of a chemical on different parts of the lichen and noting the colour change (or lack thereof) associated with application of the chemical ...
s are K+ orange, C−, KC−, and P+ orange, with UV+ a dullish dark orange.[ Secondary metabolites include calycin acid and diffractaic acid.][
]
References
granulosa
A granulosa cell or follicular cell is a somatic cell of the sex cord that is closely associated with the developing female gamete (called an oocyte or egg) in the ovary of mammals.
Structure and function
In the primordial ovarian follicle, a ...
Lichen species
Lichens of the United States
Lichens of South America
Lichens described in 1988
Fungi without expected TNC conservation status
Taxa named by Göran Thor
{{Arthoniomycetes-stub