S J | [ t p | ]
LICHEN niger.
Inky Lichen.
CRYPTOGAMIA Alga.
G en. Char. Male, (battered warts.
Female, fmootb (Welds or tubercles, in which the
feeds are imbedded.
Spec. Char. Cruft of a tboty black, compofed of
very minute, imbricated, lobed and cut leaflets ;
the margin blueifh. Shields fcattered, fmall,
black ; at firft bordered and concave ; at length
convex.
S y N. Lichen niger. Hudf. 5 2 4 . Linn. Suppl. 449.
A char. Prod. 9 2 . With. v. 4 . 1 0 . Hull. 2 8 6 .
Sibth. 3 1 9 .
M r . H U D S O N firft noticed th is L ic h e n in B r ita in , and
men tion s the ne ighbourhood o f S t . Iv e s , C o rnw a ll, as its particu
la r place o f g row th . W e found it 20 y e a rs ago about
K irk b y L o n fd a le , W e ftm o re lan d , g row in g p len tifu lly upon
m o ift (hady ro ck s. M r . H a r rim an has fent v e ry fine fpecimens
from the co u n ty o f D u rh am , and M r . G r iffith others from
W a le s . I t prefers calcareous ro ck s.
T h e c ruft is very b la c k , lo o k in g lik e ftains o f in k upon the
fton e, the edge b e in g g re y or b lu e ifh . I t is thin and tender,
w ith d ifficu lty to be pared o ff en tire , even in moift weather,
b e in g compofed o f in n um e rab le minute, leaves or branches,
fin e ly cut and pa lmate , q u ick ly im b ib in g moifture and fo b e com
in g g e la tinou s. In an old dry ftate they afiume a pale or
g re y ifh hue. T h e ffiields are fm a ll, fcattered, b la ck , opaque 5
w h en yo u n g (lightly con ca ve, w ith a fmooth border o f their
ow n c o lo u r ; but b y age th e y g row convex and lofe their b o r d
e r . T h is fpecies is v e ry diftindt in colour from L . microphyl-
lus o f A c h a r iu s , carnofus o f D ick fo n , as well as m u ch fmaller
in a ll its parts.
M r . G r iffith (fee W ith e r in g ) conceives it to be transformed
b y a g e into L. plumbeus, v . 5 . t. 3 5 3 ; but as fuch a m e ta-
morphofis would overfet all ideas o f fpecific diftindtion in
N a tu r a l H ifto ry , w e con ceiv e the ap pearance o f it to have been
caufed b y feeds o f the plumheus v ege tating in a bed o f decayed
L. niger.