Plants of the Gila Wilderness
Presented in Association with the
Western New Mexico University Department
of Natural Sciences
Dermatocarpon americanum Vainio
American Stippleback Lichen
Dermatocarpon americanum is a brown to gray lichen that occurs in groups of overlapping thalli. Each 1-3cm thallus has a single umbilicate holdfast onto rock.
The upper surface is dotted with numerous black ostioles-- the openings of the perithecia that are embedded in
the thallus. The ostioles are level with the upper surface of the thallus to slightly immersed. In the past, this
species would have keyed to D. miniatum, but the current delineation of D. miniatum is not well defined. Many of the
southwestern specimens now are placed in D. americanum.
Please click on an image for a larger file.
Dermatocarpon americanum, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Gila NF, McMillan Cmpgd trail, October 31, 2019
Dermatocarpon americanum, closeup of habit, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Gila NF, McMillan Cmpgd trail, October 31, 2019
Dermatocarpon americanum, top of thallus, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Gila NF, McMillan Cmpgd trail, October 31, 2019
Dermatocarpon americanum, bottom of thallus, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Gila NF, McMillan Cmpgd trail, October 31, 2019
Dermatocarpon americanum, photomicrograph of surface of thallus showing black ostioles, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Gila NF, McMillan Cmpgd trail, October 31, 2019
Dermatocarpon americanum, cut surface of thallus showing perithecium, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Gila NF, McMillan Cmpgd trail, October 31, 2019
Dermatocarpon americanum, cut surface of thallus showing perithecium, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Gila NF, McMillan Cmpgd trail, October 31, 2019
Dermatocarpon americanum, cross section of thallus showing perithecium (top is downward), photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Gila NF, McMillan Cmpgd trail, October 31, 2019
Dermatocarpon americanum, photomicrograph of perithecium, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Gila NF, McMillan Cmpgd trail, October 31, 2019
Dermatocarpon americanum, photomicrograph of photobiont, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Gila NF, McMillan Cmpgd trail, October 31, 2019
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