Cladonia caroliniana
Cladonia caroliniana photo by Bob Klips
DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES: Yellow-green color; branched cushions of generally stout podetia; inner medullary cylinder showing interwoven strands; squamatic acid absent (UV-); compare with C. uncialis which is generally slender, shiny, with inner medullary cylinder smooth, UV+; other corticate densely branched species in Ohio are without usnic acid.
ECOLOGY: Restricted to the Appalachian mountains; scattered in southern Ohio; on soil exclusively, frequently part of the “lichen-ericad” association on top of sandstone cliffs.