Placopsis gelida  (Common bullseye)

© Daryl Thompson (Photo ID #22301)

Photographer's Submitted Details

Photo Location	Near Tofino BC
Photographer	Daryl Thompson
Habitat	On exposed granitic outcrop
Photo Date	November 04, 2007
Upload Date	November 21, 2010
Elevation (m)
Latitude
Longitude
Photo ID #	22301
Comments	The large pink structures centered in the larger pale thallus are not apothecia but cephalodia contain nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria (the primary photobiont is green algae). It is thought they provide essential nitrogen for a young thallus to establish on the fresh surfaces of granite where they are often found. The powdery green balls are sorelia, containing fragments of green algae and fungal hyphae which provide an asexual (vegetative) method of reproduction.