Xanthoparmelia tinctina

Xanthoparmelia tinctina is a species of foliose lichen from the family Parmeliaceae that can be found in Arizona, California, Northern Africa and Europe. The upper surface is yellow–green, while the bottom surface is brown and flat, measuring 0.2–0.6 millimetres (0.0079–0.0236 in) in diameter. The apothecia are 2–10 millimetres (0.08–0.39 in) wide, the thallus is laminal and is 3–10 centimetres (1–4 in) in diameter. The disc is either cinnamon-brown or dark brown and is ellipsoided. The pycnidia are immersed, and the conidia are bifusiform, with eight-spored asci that are hyaline and ellipsoid. Xanthoparmelia tinctina can colonize serpentinite rocks, including asbestos-bearing surfaces. Studies from the Balangero asbestos mine in northwestern Italy have shown that while the species commonly grows on natural serpentinite outcrops in the region, it shows limited colonization of exposed mine walls. When transplanted to asbestos-rich surfaces, adult thalli of X. tinctina can survive and gr......read more on Wikipedia.