Pseudocyphellaria coriacea

Detailed description

Thallus orbicular to spreading, 5-10(-25) cm diam., loosely to closely attached. Lobes linear-elongate, ± subdichotomously branching, discrete, or ± imbricate, to broad and rounded, ± continuous centrally, margins entire, sinuous, subascendent, thickened below, conspicuously white-pubescent or tomentose, rather tough, coriaceous in texture. Upper surface bright lettuce-green when wet, pale greyish-green or fawnish when dry, becoming brown, buff or yellowish on storage, smooth, matt, sometimes ± scabrid-areolate in patches, and with a thin, scattered pubescence especially at margins, without soredia, isidia, phyllidia or pseudocyphellae. Internal cephalodia often visible as small, hemispherical swellings on upper and lower surface. Medulla white. Photobiont green. Lower surface pale buff to dark chocolate-brown, densely tomentose, tomentum white, silky, rather soft. Pseudocyphellae white, conspicuous, large, numerous, often with a raised margin at centre, immarginate towards lobe apices and margins. Apothecia sparse to frequent, laminal and marginal, sessile to subpedicellate, 1-4 mm diam., disc red-brown, matt, smooth, epruinose, concave to plane, margins entire or crenulate, massive at first and obscuring disc, excluded with age, ± white-pubescent or tomentose, thalline exciple areolate-scabrid, often white-pubescent. Ascospores brown, 1-3-septate, fusiform, 23-33 × 7-11 µm. It may be parasitised by the lichenicolous fungi *Dactylospora lobariella and *Stigmidium peltideae.

Chemistry: 7β-acetoxyhopan-22-ol, hopane-15α,22-diol and hopane-7β,22-diol (tr.).