Today, I would like to introduce you to one of the most common lichens in North America: the Common Greenshield. The fungus acts as the house for the alga, giving it shelter from the weather. They are diverse, adaptable, functional, and little understood. The characteristics are that it is a greenish gray, 3 cm long and wide, it was growing on a tree, and there was multiple of them around. Habitat: It grows in sun or shade on bark of deciduous or coniferous trees. As we mentioned above, common green shield lichen is not a plant. The centre of the thallus is dull due to a covering of granular Soredia.A medium to large foliose lichen with a pale yellow green upper cortex when dry. They need moisture to grow. In fact, all lichens are combinations of two very different organisms, a fungus and either an alga or a photosynthetic bacterium. This lichen is composed of the fungus Flavoparmelia caperata (Ascomycota, Lecanoromycetes, Lecanorales, Parmeliaceae) and a green alga (kingdom Plantae). A "leafy" lichen growing on bark that has a distinctive apple-green colour. Purvis, O. W., B. J. Coppins, D. L. Hawksworth, P. W. James & D. M. Moore. Many thanks to Kay Newbury at Reading University for the identification of this Lichen species - Flavoparmelia caperata. Habitat: I am thinking that it is the common green shield lichen because it has most of the same characteristics. common greenshield lichen. Notes: Lichens are not plants but two organisms of a fungus and an alga living together as one. Common Greenshield Lichen Fun Facts - Flavoparmelia caperata - greenish grey or yellowish-green - foliose lichen --> leaves - grow very slowly - if broken away, can become new lichen - medicine, dyes, perfume Is it edible? Parmelia saxatilis. If you know what kind of tree, rock, or other substrate on which the lichen is growing, note that in the habitat section. The lichen's body is made of fungal strands, but under the upper surface there is a layer of either one-celled green algae or bacteria. Jean Seavey, NPS volunteer.

Flenniken, D. G. 1999. -humans can't eat it -most animals don't eat it -not The white patches visible on the cypress trees are not part of the bark, but a common species of crustose lichen. They are both leafy and greenish-gray, they both grow on trees and live in this area. The fungus makes up 90% of the whole lichen.
Common Greenshield is very sensitive to sulphur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, and during most of the 20th century this striking lichen was extirpated from the industrial areas of northeast Ohio. The lobes of the thallus may be smooth, but quite often have a wrinkled appearance especially in older specimens.
Melanelixia subaurifera.