{{Short description|Species of lichen}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Speciesbox | image = Porina scabrida - Flickr - pellaea.jpg | image_caption = | taxon = Porina scabrida | authority = [[R.C.Harris]] (1995) | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 4 | mapframe-coordinates = {{coord|29|51|N|82|39|W}} | mapframe-caption = [[Holotype]]: [[Columbia County, Florida]] }}
'''''Porina scabrida''''' is a species of [[crustose lichen]] in the family [[Porinaceae]]. First described in 1995 by American lichenologist [[Richard C. Harris]], it is characterized by its pale olive-tan crustose [[thallus]] with distinctive cylindrical [[isidia]]. The species is found in eastern North America, ranging from [[Ontario]], Canada through the southeastern United States, where it grows primarily on tree bark in humid environments such as hardwood-[[cypress]] swamps and [[mesic habitat|mesic]] forests. It can be found at various elevations from sea level up to {{cvt|435|m}}, typically in [[protected area]]s but occasionally in disturbed habitats. The species was distributed to major [[herbarium|herbaria]] as part of the "Lichens of Eastern North America Exsiccati" collection.
==Taxonomy==
The lichen was [[species description|described]] as a new species in 1995 by the American lichenologist [[Richard C. Harris]].<ref name="Harris 1995"/>
''Porina scabrida'' was included in the tenth fascicle (specimen #458) of the ''Lichens of Eastern North America Exsiccati'', a set of dried specimens distributed to several major [[herbarium|herbaria]].<ref name="Lendemer 2015"/>
==Description==
''Porina scabrida'' is a species of [[crustose lichen]] that forms a pale olive-tan coating (the [[thallus]]) on its {{lichengloss|substrate}}. The thallus surface is warty ({{lichengloss|verrucose}}) and ranges from dull to slightly shiny in appearance. A distinctive feature of this species is its usually abundant finger-like projections called [[isidia]], which are cylindrical and sometimes branched. These isidia are somewhat irregular in shape and are composed of the lichen's algal partner ({{lichengloss|photobiont}}) wrapped in a thin protective layer of fungal cells.<ref name="Harris 1995"/>
The lichen's reproductive structures ([[ascomata]]) appear as small, flattened to dome-shaped warts that measure 0.5–0.7 mm in diameter. These warts often grow directly on the thallus surface and frequently bear the same cylindrical isidia found elsewhere on the lichen. Inside these structures, the fungal spores develop within elongated sacs called [[ascus|asci]], which measure about 120 [[μm]] long by 17 μm wide and contain eight spores each. The spores themselves are spindle-shaped with pointed ends and divided into eight cells. They measure 35–47 μm in length (occasionally reaching 57 μm) and 5.5–8 μm in width. No [[conidium|microconidia]] (tiny asexual spores) have been observed in this species.<ref name="Harris 1995"/>
==Habitat and distribution==
''Porina scabrida'' is found in eastern North America, ranging from [[Ontario]], Canada south through the southeastern United States, with a distribution spanning from the [[Southern Coastal Plain (ecoregion)|Southern Coastal Plain]] through the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] to the [[Appalachian Mountains]]. The species has been documented across several states including Florida, [[Louisiana]], [[South Carolina]], and [[North Carolina]].<ref name="Harris 1995"/> In Florida, it occurs from [[Leon County, Florida|Leon County]] in the panhandle south to [[Putnam County, Florida|Putnam County]] in the peninsula.<ref name="Perlmutter et al. 2017"/> In North Carolina, it has been found in three distinct [[ecoregion]]s: the [[Outer Banks]] ([[Tidewater (region)|Tidewater]]),<ref name="Lendemer & Yahr 2004"/> the [[Piedmont (ecoregion)|Piedmont]] ([[Wake County]]), and the [[Blue Ridge Mountains|Blue Ridge]] ([[Great Smoky Mountains]]).<ref name="Lendemer 2013"/> In Canada, it is known from [[Thunder Bay District]], Ontario, where it has been found in [[Sleeping Giant Provincial Park]] on the [[Sibley Peninsula]].<ref name="McMullin 2019"/>
The lichen typically grows in humid environments such as hardwood-cypress swamps and [[mesic habitat|mesic]] hardwood forests, including mixed-wood forests dominated by [[balsam fir]] (''Abies balsamea''), [[northern white cedar]] (''Thuja occidentalis''), [[alder]] (''Alnus''), [[birch]] (''Betula''), and [[spruce]] (''Picea'').<ref name="McMullin 2019"/> It has been found growing on various tree species, including [[Tupelo (tree)|tupelo]] (''Nyssa''), [[cypress]] (''Taxodium''), [[oak]] (''Quercus''), [[water hickory]] (''Carya aquatica''), [[red maple]] (''Acer rubrum''), [[white oak]] (''Quercus alba''), [[tulip tree]] (''Liriodendron tulipifera''), and northern white cedar (''Thuja occidentalis''), usually at relatively low elevations but reaching up to {{cvt|435|m}} in Ontario. Most collections have been made in protected areas such as [[national forest]]s, [[state park]]s, and [[wildlife management area]]s, though it can also occur in disturbed areas near infrastructure such as highway corridors.<ref name="Harris 1995"/>
==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=
<ref name="Harris 1995">{{cite book |last=Harris |first=R.D. |year=1995|title=More Florida lichens, including the 10 cent tour of the pyrenolichens |pages=165–166 |publisher=New York Botanical Garden |location=Bronx, New York |asin=B0006QC3VW}}</ref>
<ref name="Lendemer & Yahr 2004">{{cite journal |last1=Lendemer |first1=J.C. |last2=Yahr |first2=R. |year=2004 |title=A checklist of the lichens collected during the Tuckerman Workshop #12, Outer Banks, North Carolina, USA |journal=Evansia |volume=21 |pages=118–136}}</ref>
<ref name="Lendemer 2013">{{cite book |last=Lendemer |first=James |title=The Lichens and Allied Fungi of Great Smoky Mountains National Park: An Annotated Checklist with Comprehensive Keys |publisher=New York Botanical Garden Press |publication-place=Bronx, N.Y |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-89327-521-1 |oclc=824777481 |page=}}</ref>
<ref name="Lendemer 2015">{{cite journal |last=Lendemer |first=James C. |year=2015 |title=Lichens of Eastern North America Exsiccati, Fascicle X, Nos. 446–482 |journal=Opuscula Philolichenum |volume=14 |pages=59–64 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/297774648}}</ref>
<ref name="McMullin 2019">{{cite journal |last=McMullin |first=R. Troy |year=2019 |title=New and interesting Canadian lichens and allied fungi II: Reports from British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, and Quebec |journal=Opuscula Philolichenum |volume=18 |pages=396–419 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337084762}}</ref>
<ref name="Perlmutter et al. 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Perlmutter |first1=Gary B. |last2=Blank |first2=Gary B. |last3=Plata |first3=Eimy Rivas |title=Noteworthy collections of lichens and allied Fungi from Western Wake County, North Carolina, USA |journal=Evansia |volume=33 |issue=4 |year=2017 |doi=10.1639/0747-9859-33.4.165 |pages=165–168}}</ref>
}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q10637688}}
[[Category:Porina|scabrida]] [[Category:Lichen species]] [[Category:Lichens described in 1995]] [[Category:Lichens of the Southeastern United States]] [[Category:Taxa named by Richard Clinton Harris]]