L I C H E N nivalis.
Snow Lichen.
CRYPTO GAM I A Alga.
G en . Ch a r . Male, scattered warts.
Female, smooth shields or tubercles, in which the
seeds are imbedded.
S pec. Ch a r . Leafy, membranous, ascending, laciniated,
pitted, of a sulphureous white, yellow at the base;
its segments flatfish, repeatedly divided, divaricated,
notched, warty. Shields in front towards the margin,
flesh-coloured, with a crenate border.
Syn. Lichen nivalis. Linn. Sp. PL 1612. FI. Lapp,
ed. 2 . 355. t. 1 1 . ƒ 1 . Ach. Prod. 171. D ic k s .
Crypt, fa s c . 3. 17. W ith . v. 4. 60. Hull. 298.
Fillars Dauph. v. 3 , 955. var. 1 . t. 55. FI. Dan.
t. 2 2 7 ,
Lichenoides lacunosum candidum glabrum, endivias
crispse facie. Dill. Muse. 162. 1. 2 1 . f . 56 A.
Cetraria nivalis. A ch . Meth. 294.
T h e specimen in our plate was brought from the Highlands
of Scotland by Mr. Turner and Mr. Hooker in 1807, but our
first knowledge of this Lichen as a native of that country was
derived from Dr. R. Townson in 1790, as mentioned in the
2d edition of Linn. FI. Lapp. It always prefers the highest
or coldest, dry and rocky, places.
The fronds are of the palest sulphur-colour, almost white,
tufted, entangled amongst other Lichens or mosses,, membranous,
brittle when dry, repeatedly cut into narrow, divaricated,
notched segments, all over pitted or cellular, not
unaptly resembling in form and colour small leaves of curled
endive. Little blackish warts occur here and there on the
edges, but what share they have in the fructification is unknown.
The real shields of this Lichen are one o f our chief desiderata.
We have in vain searched the herbarium of Linnaeus
for his Dalecarlian specimen, figured in FI. Lapp. t. I l .ƒ . 1 •
but as his description agrees with that of Villars, we have
profited of both in our above specific character. We hope
some future traveller in Scotland may find our L . cucullatus,
Tr. o f L . Soc. v. 1 . 84. t. 4. f . 7, whose shields grow on the
back of the leaf, under hoods, aqd whose fronds are channelled,
scarcely pitted or wrinkled.
130 i
M ar j i&oy Aui&shiZ by J o ." J 'o rjeriy London.