Umbilicaria mammulata
{{Short description|Species of lichen}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Umbilicaria mammulata
| image = Smooth Rock Tripe (1290690248).jpg
| image_caption = in the Appalachians
| taxon = Umbilicaria mammulata
| authority = (Ach.) Tuck. (1848)
| synonyms = *Gyrophora mammulata Ach. (1814)
}}
Umbilicaria mammulata, or smooth rock tripe, is a foliose lichen found on boulders and rock walls.{{cite book | last = Walewski | first = Joe | title = Lichens of the North Woods | publisher = Kollath-Stensaas | location = City | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-0-9792006-0-1 }}
Description
Umbilicaria mammulata is among the largest lichens in the world. The thallus of U. mammulata is usually {{convert|4|to|15|cm|in|abbr=on}} in diameter, but specimens have been known to reach {{convert|63|cm|ft|abbr=on|adj=on}} in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.{{cite book | last = Brodo | first = Irwin | title = Lichens of North America | publisher = Yale University Press | location = New Haven | year = 2001 | isbn = 978-0-300-08249-4 }} The smooth upper surface is a reddish-brown to grayish-brown color and the lower surface is pitch black.
Ecology
This species is found on boulders and steep rock walls in forests and around lakes. It grows on several types of rock substrate, such as acidic rock, sandstone, quartz, and granitic rock.Wisconsin State Herbarium, "Wisconsin Vascular Plants: Details Page." http://www.botany.wisc.edu/Wislichens/scripts/detail.asp?SpCode=UMBMAM (accessed Dec 19, 2008). Like most lichens, U. mammulata is sensitive to air and water quality. If conditions are optimal, seeing rocks or cliffs covered in dinner plate-sized thalli is not unusual. However, it has been suggested that U. mammulata is not as sensitive to pH and water quality as it is to the frequency and duration of precipitation.{{Cite journal | jstor = 3242913 | title = Water Quality and pH Effects on Umbilicaria mammulata (Ach.) Tuck | last1 = Bailey | first1 = Christine | last2 = Larson | first2 = D. W. | journal = The Bryologist | year = 1982 | volume = 85 | issue = 4 | pages = 431–437 | doi = 10.2307/3242913 }}
Gallery
Image:Umbilicaria mammulata 01.JPG|U. mammulata growing on a rock on Pratt Mountain.
Image:Umbilicaria_mammulata-4.jpg|The smooth upper surface of U. mammulata.
Image:Umbilicaria_mammulata-3.jpg|The black bottom surface of U. mammulata.
Image:umbilicaria_mammulata _rt.jpg|U. mammulata on sandstone blocks in Otter Creek Wilderness, West Virginia.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q5025764}}
Category:Lichens described in 1814
Category:Lichens of North America
Category:Taxa named by Erik Acharius
{{Lecanoromycetes-stub}}