Cladonia apodocarpa
Cladonia apodocarpa photo by Ray Showman
DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES: Bluish, mineral-gray color; strap-shaped squamules with forked tips; undersurface very white, K+ yellow; apothecia when present, sessile or nearly so; compare with C. caespiticia which has very short squamules and is often sorediate, C. polycarpoides which is gray-green in color, with the undersurface tinted brown, K+ red, and C. robbinsii, which is yellow-green in color (rare).
ECOLOGY: Very common in the eastern US; scattered throughout Ohio, common in eastern ans southern counties; on soil and over rock, usually in sunny, wooded areas.