Umbilicaria phaea is a brown, umbilicate foliose lichen that grows up to 6 cm (2.4 in) in diameter, sometimes in colonies covering large patches of desert rocks.[1]: 127 [2] One variety that grows in northern California is brilliant red.[1] It is (monophyllous) with a single 1 – 5 cm flattish leaf-like cap on top of an anchoring stem (umbilicate).[2] The leaflike top is smooth with some lobes, roughly circular, thin, and brittle.[2] The lower surface is light gray to light brown.[2] It has up to 2.5 mm black circular to slightly polygonal spots that are the fruiting bodies (apothecia), slightly sunken into the main nonfruiting body part (thallus).[2] It grows on siliceous boulders in very dry climates of western North and South America, where it is usually the most common member of its genus.[2]
| Umbilicaria phaea | |
|---|---|
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| Umbilicaria phaea is the lichen on the right | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Umbilicariales |
| Family: | Umbilicariaceae |
| Genus: | Umbilicaria |
| Species: | U. phaea
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| Binomial name | |
| Umbilicaria phaea Tuck. (1869)
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References edit
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