Physcia caesia

Physcia caesia, known colloquially as blue-gray rosette lichen and powder-back lichen, is a species of foliose lichenized fungus. First described by Georg Franz Hoffmann in 1784, it is common across much of Europe, North America and New Zealand, and more patchily distributed in South America, Asia, Australia and Antarctica. There are 2 subspecies, P. c. caesia and P. c. ventosa, as well as a number of distinct forms and varieties. Molecular studies suggest that the species as currently defined may be polyphyletic. It is typically pale gray shading to darker gray in the center (though some forms are considerably darker), and grows in a small rosette, usually some 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) across at maturity. It only rarely has apothecia, instead reproducing most often vegetatively via soredia, which are piled in round blue-gray mounds across the thallus's upper surface. It grows most often on rock—principally calcareous, but also basaltic and siliceous—and also occurs on bone, bark and soil. It is nitrophilic and is particularly common on substrates where birds perch. Capable of growing at a multitude of angles on a variety of surfaces, Physcia caesia also tolerates a wide range of environmental extremes from the high temperatures of desert locations to the low temperatures of the Antarctic. It grows on both dry stone and that moistened by seepage, and can survive being irregularly submerged for extended periods underwater. Like many lichens that grow on rock, Physcia caesia is able to extract nutrients from the substrate upon which it grows, as well as from rainwater and atmospheric dust. It is threatened by habitat loss through development, as well as trampling or overgrowth of its location. A number of lichenicolous species are known parasites. Physcia caesia was first described by Georg Franz Hoffmann in 1784 as Lichen caesius. Other lichenologists assigned it to various other genera both before and after it was moved into its current genus by Georg Ernst Ludwig Hampe in 1839. It has 2 subspecies, P. c. caesia and P. c. ventosa, as well as a number of distinct forms and varieties, some of which were thought to be distinct species in the past. Although this species and Physcia aipolia have been considered a species pair, some molecular studies suggest that they should instead be considered conspecific. Other molecular studies suggest that both Physcia caesia and Physcia aipolia are polyphyletic taxa, with various forms more closely related to other species than to each other. The genus name Physcia means 'inflated' or 'sausage-like', referring to the form of the type species. The specific epithet caesia is a Latin word meaning 'blue-gray'. Physcia caesia is known colloquially as blue-gray rosette lichen and powder-back lichen. Physcia caesia is a foliose lichen that forms small rosettes, typically measuring 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) across at maturity, though it can reach diameters of up to 7 centimetres (2.8 in). The thallus is pale gray shading to darker gray in the center, and adheres closely to the substrate on which it grows. Its convex lobes are linear, typically measuring 0.5–1.0 mm (0.02–0.04 in) in width, though occasionally as wide as 2 mm (0.08 in). Forms in some areas, including Greenland, can be considerably darker, with a thallus ranging from gray to dark gray; they can also have broader or narrower lobes. The lichen's surface is white-spotted, though this is not always obvious. It has blue-gray soredia, which are piled in round mounds (such aggregations are known as soralia) across the thallus's upper surface. The lower surface is white to brown with short, dark rhizines. Physcia caesia only rarely has apothecia. Where present, these are black discs measuring up to 2 millimetres (0.08 in) across, with prominent thalline margins (which means the thallus extends up around the edges of the apothecia) and a grayish pruinescence. Each ascus contains 8 spores, which are thick-walled and brown, measuring 18–25 μm (0.00071–0.00098 in) x 6–10 μm (0.00024–0.00039 in). Its photobiont is the green algae Trebouxia impressa, a species associated with many Physcia lichens. The lichen's cortex and medulla react positively with potassium hydroxide (K), turning yellow. Cortex and medulla react positively with para-phenylenediamene (Pd) as well, also turning yellow. They produce no reaction with calcium or sodium hypochlorite (bleach – C), nor with KC (potassium hydroxide quickly followed by bleach). Among the substances produced by the lichen are atranorin and zeorin. Physcia caesia was long considered to be a species pair with the very similar Physcia aipolia; the latter is regularly covered with black apothecia, and typically grows epiphytically. Physcia caesia may also be confused with Physcia poncinsii, but the latter has 'crateriform' (hollowed, like a bowl or saucer) rather than rounded soralia, and obviously convex lobes. It may also be confused with Physcia dubia which, like Physcia caesia, can be quite variable; however, P. dubia has lip-shaped soralia (which tend to be primarily apical), and its thallus does not react with potassium hydroxide.