Pseudocyphellaria rufovirescens

Detailed description

Thallus spreading, often entangled, in very large clones, loosely attached, 7-10(-30) cm diam. Lobes linear-elongate, 5-8(-15) mm wide, 5-10(-15) cm long, ± dichotomously branching, contiguous or discrete, rarely imbricate, margins entire, smoothly rounded, without pseudocyphellae, slightly thickened below, apices rounded to truncate or shallowly furcate, rather variable, thinner and elongate to wider and ± imbricate. Upper surface bright lettuce-green when wet, pale greyish-green when dry, smooth, matt, shallowly faveolate, dividing ridges smoothly rounded, undulate, without isidia, phyllidia, soredia or pseudocyphellae. Medulla white. Photobiont green. Lower surface white to pale pinkish-white at margins, darker centrally, wrinkled-bullate especially at margins, glabrous at and towards apices, short, white, delicate, silky-tomentose in older parts, tomentum often sparse or absent. Pseudocyphellae white, punctiform, immarginate, fleck-like at margins, to 0.5 mm diam., centrally, and there with a fine margin, scattered, ± flat or only very slightly verruciform, often clustered. Apothecia marginal, 1-5 mm diam., sessile or subpedicellate, disc pale brownish-pink to red-brown, concave at first, becoming ± plane or undulate, glossy, epruinose, smooth, margins pale buff or pinkish, thin, crenulate, thalline exciple pinkish, corrugate-scabrid. Ascospores mainly 1-, rarely to 3-septate, colourless, fusiform-ellipsoid, (20-)24-27(-32) × (7-)8-9(-11) µm.

Chemistry: 7β-acetoxyhopane-22-ol, hopane-15α,22-diol, hopane-7β,22-diol (±).

Can form photosymbiodemes, and was previously thought to be a separate species called P. murrayi.