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bellemerea lichen
Scientific Name: Bellemerea
Family: Porpidiaceae
Category: Lichen
Growth:
Duration:
Other Names:
Bellemerea: A Genus of Crustose Lichens
Bellemerea is a genus of lichens belonging to the family Lecideaceae. These lichens are characterized by their crustose growth form and are often found in mountainous regions around the world.
Taxonomy and Nomenclature
- Genus: Bellemerea
- Family: Lecideaceae
- Type Species: Bellemerea alpina
Several species are included within this genus, such as Bellemerea alpina, Bellemerea subsorediza, Bellemerea cinereorufescens, Bellemerea diamarta, and Bellemerea sanguinea. Synonyms for Bellemerea alpina include Aspicilia alpina, Lecanora alpina, and Lecanora applegatei.
Bellemerea alpina: Alpine Brown Sunken Disk Lichen
- Scientific Name: Bellemerea alpina (Sommerf.) Clauzade & Roux
- Common Names: Brown sunken disk lichen, Alpine sunken disk lichen, Alpine bellemerea lichen
Distribution and Habitat
Bellemerea alpina is known to grow on rocks in mountainous regions worldwide, including the Canadian Rockies, British Columbia, and the Cairngorms in Britain. It has also been recorded in China.
Morphological Characteristics
Bellemerea alpina is a white to pale tan, thick crustose areolate lichen. The thallus is conspicuously areolate-cracked, rather thick, and typically measures 1-5 cm in diameter, forming orbicular shapes that sometimes spread irregularly among other lichens.
Quirky Facts
- Bellemerea alpina had not been seen in Britain for more than 30 years before recent discoveries in the Cairngorms.
Further Information
- Further information can be found in the "Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region" (Nash III, T.H., Gries, C., and Bungartz, F. (eds.), 2007).
- The Louisiana State University Herbarium Lichen Collection contains samples of Bellemerea alpina.