Ramalina leptocarpha

{{Short description|Species of lichen}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Ramalina leptocarpha imported from iNaturalist photo 157477355 on 26 April 2024.jpg

| image_caption = Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve, San Mateo County, California, 2021

| taxon = Ramalina leptocarpha

| authority = Tuck., 1858

}}

Ramalina leptocarpha, also known as the western strap lichen, is a species of cartilage lichen found in Oregon, California, and Baja California.{{cite web |title=Ramalina leptocarpha |url=https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/203093-Ramalina-leptocarpha |website=iNaturalist |access-date=2024-04-26 |language=en-US}}{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/3242380|jstor=3242380 |title=Ramalina leptocarpha and R. Subleptocarpha: A Fertile-Sorediate Species Pair |last1=Rundel |first1=Philip W. |last2=Bowler |first2=Peter A. |journal=The Bryologist |date=1976 |volume=79 |issue=3 |pages=364–369 }}{{Cite web |title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.125590/Ramalina_leptocarpha |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=explorer.natureserve.org}} The range of this species extends from the coast as far inland as the Sierra Nevada mountain range. R. leptocarpha often grows in epiphytic association with Ramalina menziesii.{{Cite journal |last=Werth |first=Silke |date=July 2012 |title=Fungal-algal interactions in Ramalina menziesii and its associated epiphytic lichen community |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0024282912000138/type/journal_article |journal=The Lichenologist |language=en |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=543–560 |doi=10.1017/S0024282912000138 |issn=0024-2829|url-access=subscription }} Trebouxia decolorans is its primary algal photobiont. This species was first described in 1858 by Edward Tuckerman from a collection made in Monterey, California.Tuckerman, E. 1858: Supplement to an enumeration of North American and some other lichens. American Journal of Science, and Arts. Series 2, 25: 422–430. page 423 URL=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27560448