Field Key to Common Brown Foliose Lichens

1a Thallus very thin, tightly appressed lacking rhizines; lobes narrow, less than 0.5 mm wide (genus Hyperphyscia)………………………………. 2

1b Thallus of ordinary thickness; lobes greater than 0.5 mm wide……………………………………. 3

2a Soredia present; apothecia usually lacking………………………….. Hyperphyscia adglutinata

2b Soredia lacking; apothecia common and abundant………………….. Hyperphyscia syncolla

 

3a Color deep olive-brown; cortex thin and fragile; thallus with tiny isidia clustered in soralialike groups……. Melanelixia subaurifera

3b Color light to dark chocolate brown; cortex of typical thickness; soredia, if present, powdery or coarse, but not tiny………………………………. 4

4a Medulla bright orange…………….. Phaeophyscia rubropulchra

4b Medulla white………………………………………….. 5

5a Soredia lacking; apothecia common and abundant………………………………………………… 6

6a Rims of apothecia adorned with strap-shaped lobules……………………… Anaptychia palmulata

6b Rims of apothecia smooth, lacking lobules………………………………….. Phaeophyscia ciliata

5b Soredia present………………………………………… 6

6a Hairs projecting from lobe tips…. Phaeophyscia hirsuta

6b Hairs absent from lobe tips………………………… 7

7a Soralia headlike, on margins or small lateral lobes……………………. Phaeophyscia pusilloides

7b Soralia diffuse or linear…………… Phaeophyscia adiastola