Plants of the Gila Wilderness
Presented in Association with the
Western New Mexico University Department
of Natural Sciences
Leptogium pseudofurfuraceum P.M. Jørg. & Wallace
Dimpled Jelly Skin
Leptogium pseudofurfuraceum is a small brown moss that grows on bark or on moss growing on bark. On close examination, the thallus lobes may have large numbers of cylindrical isidia on the body or margins. Apothecia are not common. The body of the thallus is wrinkled in concentric circles on the lobes. The undersurface is covered in whitish hairs except at the margins. The photobiont is a cyanobacterium (Nostoc) that is found in chains throughout the medulla and not limited to a photobiont layer. Both the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of the thallus have a cortex.
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Leptogium pseudofurfuraceum, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, McMillan Campground, May 1, 2018
Leptogium pseudofurfuraceum, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, McMillan Campground, May 1, 2018
Leptogium pseudofurfuraceum, photomicrograph demonstrating cylindrical isidia, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, McMillan Campground, May 1, 2018
Leptogium pseudofurfuraceum, photomicrograph demonstrating cylindrical isidia, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, McMillan Campground, May 1, 2018
Leptogium pseudofurfuraceum, photomicrograph of moistened thallus, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, McMillan Campground, May 1, 2018
Leptogium pseudofurfuraceum, photomicrograph white tomentum on undersurface of thallus, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, McMillan Campground, May 1, 2018
Leptogium pseudofurfuraceum, photomicrograph of thallus cross section demonstrating chains of Nostoc scattered diffusely in the medulla and cortex both above and below, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, McMillan Campground, May 1, 2018
Leptogium pseudofurfuraceum, photomicrograph of Nostoc filament, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, McMillan Campground, May 1, 2018
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