Plants of the Gila Wilderness
Presented in Association with the
Western New Mexico University Department
of Natural Sciences
Xanthoparmelia cf ahtii (Essl.) O. Blanco, A. Crespo, Elix, D. Hawksw. & Lumbsch
Ahtii's Neofuscelia Lichen
This foliose lichen grows on acidic rock and is a distinctive olive green. It is reproductive with brown apothecia on very short
stalks.
Xanthoparmelia ahtii belongs to a group of lichens that can only be differentiated by thin layer chromatography (TLC), to which we do not have
easy access. Other lichens in this group include X. brunella, & X. infrapallida. X. ahtii has "unidentified fatty acid TE-8" as a
major constituent, whereas X. infrapallida has "unidentified fatty acid TE-13" as a major constituent. X. brunella has "unidentified fatty acids
TE-10 & TE-11" as major constituents. Since we have not done TLC, we cannot say for sure which of these lichens ours really is. Our
lichen is spot test K-, so it is not X. atticoides. The morphological differences between the other three possibilities are
unreliable apparently, but ours seems to most resemble X. ahtii.
We found X. cf ahtii growing on granitic rock along Bear Creek in Ponderosa forest 1 mi north of Pinos Altos at about
7,000 feet elevation.
Please click on an image for a larger file.
Xanthoparmelia ahtii, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard,
Gila NF, Grant Cty, along Bear Creek and Hwy 15, about 1 mi N of Pinos Altos, December 15, 2019
Xanthoparmelia ahtii, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard,
Gila NF, Grant Cty, along Bear Creek and Hwy 15, about 1 mi N of Pinos Altos, December 15, 2019
Xanthoparmelia ahtii, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard,
Gila NF, Grant Cty, along Bear Creek and Hwy 15, about 1 mi N of Pinos Altos, December 15, 2019
Xanthoparmelia ahtii, macro of apothecium, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard,
Gila NF, Grant Cty, along Bear Creek and Hwy 15, about 1 mi N of Pinos Altos, December 15, 2019
Xanthoparmelia ahtii, undersurface of thallus, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard,
Gila NF, Grant Cty, along Bear Creek and Hwy 15, about 1 mi N of Pinos Altos, December 15, 2019
Xanthoparmelia ahtii, photomicrograph of apothecium, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard,
Gila NF, Grant Cty, along Bear Creek and Hwy 15, about 1 mi N of Pinos Altos, December 15, 2019
Xanthoparmelia ahtii, photomicrograph of apothecium, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard,
Gila NF, Grant Cty, along Bear Creek and Hwy 15, about 1 mi N of Pinos Altos, December 15, 2019
Xanthoparmelia ahtii, photomicrograph of green photobiont, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard,
Gila NF, Grant Cty, along Bear Creek and Hwy 15, about 1 mi N of Pinos Altos, December 15, 2019
Xanthoparmelia ahtii, photomicrograph of cross section of apothecium, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard,
Gila NF, Grant Cty, along Bear Creek and Hwy 15, about 1 mi N of Pinos Altos, December 15, 2019
Xanthoparmelia ahtii, dark field photomicrograph of cross section of apothecium, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard,
Gila NF, Grant Cty, along Bear Creek and Hwy 15, about 1 mi N of Pinos Altos, December 15, 2019
Xanthoparmelia ahtii, photomicrograph of cross section of hymenium with ascus with 8 elliptic ascospores, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard,
Gila NF, Grant Cty, along Bear Creek and Hwy 15, about 1 mi N of Pinos Altos, December 15, 2019
Xanthoparmelia ahtii, photomicrograph of cross section of hymenium with ascus with 8 elliptic ascospores, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard,
Gila NF, Grant Cty, along Bear Creek and Hwy 15, about 1 mi N of Pinos Altos, December 15, 2019
Back to the Index
