y , [ 1 6 9 7 ]
LICHEN stellaris.
Black-shielded Stellated Lichen.
CRYPTOGAMIA Alga;.
G en. Char , Male, scattered warts.
Female, smooth shields or tubercles, in which the
seeds are imbedded.
S pec. Ch ar . Imbricated, flexible, stellated, pale unchangeable
grey, at length rugged and granulated;
its segments linear, convex, repeatedly subdivided ;
beneath whitish with black fibres. Shields greyish
black, with a grey inflexed border.
Syn. Lichen stellaris. Linn. Sp. PL 161 1. Buds.
534. With.v. 4. 31. Hull. 294. Relh. 460.
Sibth. 325. Abbot. 264. Lightf. 824.
Lichenoides cinereum, segmentis argutis stellatis, scu-
tellis nigris. Dill. Muse. 176. t. 24. f . 70.
L. arboreum, crusta foliosa albo-cinerea, tenuiter et
eleganter dissecta, scutellis nigris. Rail Syn, 74.
Parmelia stellaris. Ach. Meth. 209.
-A VERY common species on the bark of trees, where it
forms roundish patches, conspicuous for their neat radiating
figure and their bright silver-grey hue, which is nearly the
same whether wet or dry, and never assumes any tinge of
green. The frond is easily separable from the bark, tq which
it adheres by numerous black or brown fibres, springing front
its whitish under surface. The upper surface is smooth
when young, but in process of time becomes finely rugged or
almost granulated. Segments linear, convex, imbricated,
much and repeatedly subdivided; their extremities obtuse.
Shields very numerous, small, round, black or greyish-black,
with a neat grey inflexed border, commonly smooth and
entire, until it becomes old.—How far L. anthelinus and ai-
polius of Acharius are really distinct from this, we are not
fully satisfied. His pulverulentus is widely so, though made
a variety by Hudson, Lightfoot, 8cc. When the last-named
author mentions a variety of L . stellaris with central warts,
and no shields, we believe he means L. ccesius, v. 15. t. 1052,
for we scarcely find warts on our stellaris. The figure of
Dillenius i. 24. f. 70. is truly miserable, but has not been
'disputed.