General:
Common Name: The Brown Lichens. Describes the colour of the upper surface in this genus. Small to occasionally medium stratified foliose lichens, corticate above and below, sorediate or isidiate or not, pseudocyphellate or not, lobes closely appressed to rather loosely appressed, short to elongate, 0.4–4 (–7) mm wide, thin or somtimes rather thick. Upper surface brown, K-, HNO3- (ours), pruinose or not. Lower surface pale to blackish, bearing short, simple rhizines. Medulla white. Photobiont green.
Apothecia located over upper surface, disc brown; spores simple, ellipsoid, colourless, 8 (–32) per ascus.
Over bark or rock.
Notes: Melanelia is primarily a temperate and boreal genus consisting of about 35 species worldwide. Twentythree of these occur in North America and 17 in B.C. Melanelia was one of several genera recently segregated from the classic genus Parmelia.

Species description:
Soredia and/or isidia present AND
Thallus bearing distinctly corticate isidia, these coloured alike with upper surface; soredia absent AND
Mature isidia predominantly globular, barrel-shaped or elongate-dorsiventral, sometimes also in part granular or narrow-cylindrical, sometimes hollow AND
Mature isidia barrel-shaped or elongate-dorsiventral, lower surface (of dorsiventral isidia) generally bearing rhizines; isidia occasionally branched, but not heaped in coralloid masses; upper surface not distinctly transversely wrinkled or cracked; over bark, wood or rock; cortex HNO3- AND
Mature isidia loosely appressed and lobe-like, never inflated; over rock

OR

Soredia and isidia absent (Note: low, white-tipped conical warts/papillae may develop over upper surface of some species) AND
Over rock or (rarely) soil AND
Rhizines present below (check near lobe tips); lobes in part concave to plane, distribution various AND
Pseudocyphellae and pycnidia absent or, if present, then scattered over upper surface, pycnidia either somewhat sunken or at most slightly protruding above upper cortex AND
Upper surface brownish or blackish throughout, K-, never white-pruinose; pseudocyphellae, when present, spot-like or at least not elongate-angular; medulla K- AND
Pseudocyphellae absent (or apparently absent) over upper surface AND
Lobes mostly less than 1 mm wide, generally densely lobulate toward thallus centre; apothecia uncommon; medulla KC-

Reactions:
Medulla KC- or rarely KC+ dingy rose.

Source:  Lichens of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration By:  Trevor Goward

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Parmelia panniformis