Plants of the Gila Wilderness
Presented in Association with the
Western New Mexico University Department
of Natural Sciences
Xanthoparmelia plittii (Gyelnik) Hale
Plitt's Rock Shield
Xanthoparmelia plittii, according to Brodo et al., is the isidiate version of X. cumberlandii. The isidia, cylindrical gray cortex-covered
bundles of fungal hyphae wrapped around the photobiont alga, are abundant and occasionally branched. The undersurface of
the thallus is dark brown. The medulla turns yellow with KOH. Xanthoparmelia plittii is found at middle elevation on rock in the
Gila.
Please click on an image for a larger file.
Xanthoparmelia plittii, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, Pinos Altos, September 14, 2019
Xanthoparmelia plittii, habit, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, Pinos Altos, September 14, 2019
Xanthoparmelia plittii, undersurface of thallus, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, Pinos Altos, September 14, 2019
Xanthoparmelia plittii, photomicrograph of thallus with cylindrical isidia, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, Pinos Altos, September 14, 2019
Xanthoparmelia plittii, photomicrograph of thallus with cylindrical isidia that are sometimes branched, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, Pinos Altos, September 14, 2019
Xanthoparmelia plittii, photomicrograph of yellow reaction in KOH, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, Pinos Altos, September 14, 2019
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