''Niebla infundibula'' is a

fruticose lichen A fruticose lichen is a form of lichen fungi that is characterized by a coral-like shrubby or bushy growth structure. It is formed from a symbiotic relationship of a photobiont such as green algae or less commonly cyanobacteria and one, two or mor ...

that grows on rocks along the Pacific Coast in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

of California (

San Nicolas Island San Nicolas Island (Spanish: ''Isla de San Nicolás''; Tongva: ''Haraasnga'') is the most remote of the Channel Islands, off of Southern California, 61 miles (98 km) from the nearest point on the mainland coast. It is part of Ventura Coun ...

) and in

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

Guadalupe Island Guadalupe Island ( es, Isla Guadalupe, link=no) is a volcanic island located off the western coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula and about southwest of the city of Ensenada in the state of Baja California, in the Pacific Ocean. The ...

, and on the main peninsula in the southern region of the Northern

Vizcaíno Desert Vizcaíno may refer to: *Biscayne (ethnonym), an ethnonym in use in Spanish between the Renaissance and 19th century, meaning a Basque speaking person Places *Key Biscayne, originally Cayo Vizcaíno, an island in Florida, USA *Sebastián Vizcaín ...

on a ridge south of Punta Negra.Spjut, R. W. 1996. ''Niebla'' and ''Vermilacinia'' (Ramalinaceae) from California and Baja California. Sida Bot. Misc. 14 The epithet, '' infundibula'', is in reference to the funnel shape of the

thallus Thallus (plural: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. Many of these organisms wer ...

branches.

Distinguishing features

''Niebla infundibula'' is characterized by a large massive rigid

divided into sub eretebranches spreading from a holdfast, to 10 cm high and 15 cm across above the base, and further recognized by containing divaricatic acid and by the large pycnidia. that are prominent on the upper parts of branches, appearing larger than other species in the genus; however, comparative measurements were not provided for all species. The cortex is glossy and moderately thick, 75–125 μm thick. The relatively greater mass of the thallus may be due to a thicker glossy layer that is generally absent in many related species (“epicortex”Bowler, P.A. 1981. Cortical diversity in the Ramalinaceae. Can. J. Bot. 59: 437–453.). Similar species are ''

Niebla juncosa ''Niebla juncosa'' is a fruticose lichen that grows on rock, stony soil and sand along the Pacific Coast of Baja California from Punta Banda to Morro Santo Dominogo.Spjut, R. W. 1996. ''Niebla'' and ''Vermilacinia'' (Ramalinaceae) from Californ ...

'', which differs in having a more fragile thallus with branches that break off as evident from the thallus falling apart in the

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

, including breaking apart at the base, and by its less glossy cortex and less conspicuous pyncidia (due to their smaller size), and '' Niebla eburnea'', also with smaller pycnidia (200–350 μm long), but generally recognized by its pastry-like, or ivory-like, cortex.

Taxonomic history

''Niebla infundibula'' was first recognized by Richard Spjut, accompanied by Richard Marin and Thomas McCloud, 19 May 1986, just south of Punta Negra on rock outcrops along a ridge that appeared to receive more precipitation from ocean fog than nearby ridges and peaks (Plate 1D in Spjut’s 1996 revision of ''Niebla'' and ''Vermilacinia''). This area was observed during May 1985 by Spjut—while he and Marin were collecting samples of lichens in search of new drugs to treat HIV—to have fog lingering over the peaks and ridges most of the day. The following year, in May 1986, they were able to find a path to the foggy ridges and peaks. In addition to ''Niebla infundibula'', other rare species of lichens were discovered, ''

Niebla homaleoides ''Niebla homaleoides '' is a fruticose lichen that grows on rocks within a narrow region of the foggy Pacific Coast of Baja California in the Northern Vizcaíno Desert, Arroyo Sauces, Punta Cono and ridges south of Punta Negra.Spjut, R. W. 1996 ...

'' (acid deficient) and '' Vermilacinia rigida''. ''Niebla infundibula'' was subsequently found on another ridge just south of Punta Negra, above Punta Rocosa, in March 1988. A strong similarity of ''N. infundibula'' to other ''Niebla'' species growing with it, such as ''

Niebla josecuervoi ''Niebla josecuervoi '' is a fruticose lichen that grows on rock, stony soil and sand along the Pacific Coast of northern Baja California from near Misión San Vicente Ferrer to Punta Santa Rosalilillita.Spjut, R. W. 1996. ''Niebla'' and ''Ve ...

'' (

salazinic acid Salazinic acid is a depsidone with a lactone ring. It is found in some lichens, and is especially prevalent in ''Parmotrema'' and ''Bulbothrix'', where its presence or absence is often used to help classify species in those genera. History I ...

) and ''Niebla homaleoides'', has been suggested to be due to hybridization. The prominence of the pycnidia and their potential role in sexual reproduction has been considered. Specimens later studied in the United States National Herbarium (Smithsonian Institution) and on loan from the University of Colorado and Boulder were also recognized to belong to ''N. infundibula''. However, the species (''N. infundibula'') appears to be relatively rare based on the relatively few collections reported. ''Niebla infundibula'' has been included under a very broad species concept of ''

Niebla homalea ''Niebla homalea'' is a species of fruticose lichen that grows on rocks in foggy areas along the Pacific Coast of North America, from Mendocino County, California south to Bahía de San Quintín on the main peninsula of Baja California, with an ...

;''Bowler, P. and J. Marsh. 2004. ''Niebla''. ‘Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert 2’: 368–380. one that essentially recognizes only three species in the genus ''Niebla'', defined by a two-layered cortex, isolated chondroid strands in the medulla and by lacking key lichen substances such as the triterpene zeorin and the diterpene (-)-16 α-hydroxykaurane that are found in most species of ''Vermilacinia''.Spjut R. W. 1995. ''Vermilacinia'' (Ramalinaceae, Lecanorales), a new genus of lichens. In: Flechten Follmann; Contr. Lichen in honor of Gerhard Follmann; F. J. A. Daniels, M. Schulz & J. Peine, eds., Koeltz Scientific Books: Koenigstein, pp. 337-351. Under the broad species concept, the morphological differences are seen as environmentally induced variation, and the chemical differences as chemo-syndromes; however, no data were presented to support this view, other than reference to studies in other genera in which the species differences mentioned were not applicable.Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert: Book Review, Richard Spjut, web page, http://www.worldbotanical.com/lichen%20flora%20review.htm

References

External links

*World Botanical Associates, ''Niebla infundibula'', retrieved 26 Dec 2014, http://www.worldbotanical.com/niebla_ infundibula.htm# infundibula {{Taxonbar, from=Q20720475 Lichen species Lichens of North America Ramalinaceae Lichens described in 1996 Taxa named by Richard Wayne Spjut