Crystal Scale
Perspective
Blushing Scale
Older, with Fruit
Animals
Plants
Info
| Crystal Scale Perspective | | Blushing Scale Older, with Fruit | | ||
Animals Plants Info |
 | Class: | Fungi (Fungi) - Sac Fungi (Ascomycota) - Lichenised Fungi (Lecanoromycetes) | ||||||||||||||
| Order: | Lichens (Lecanorales) | |||||||||||||||
| Family: | Lichen (Psoraceae) iNaturalist Observation | |||||||||||||||
| Species: | Blushing Scale (Psora decipiens)| This Photo: | 🔍New Green Growth and Fruit🔎 | Other name: | Salmon Flakes | Thank you (LifeIsAmazing ) & Tony and Jenny Dominelli (Cinclosoma) for confirming the id of this species for us General Species Information: Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA), the Riverland and elsewhere Most of the fungi you see are actually just the fruiting bodies. Psora is a lichen, which is a symbiosis between 2 organisms, fungi and something else (algea or cyanobacteria). As such, most of what you see with lichen is the base, which then has little tiny mushroom like fruiting bodies attached; you can see the dark spots of the fruit in these photo's. You'll also notice the different colours, going from a green colour when fresh to typical white & salmon colour of the more mature lichen. There is another very similar to this, Psora crenata. Dr. Max Mallen-Cooper said that Psora crenata has to be: 1) a highly concave-inwards shape in mature squamules and even the small young ones have to show some sign of starting to concave inwards like a crater, 2) margins appear bulgey and folded back in on itself due to concave crater-like shape, 3) generally larger than Psora decipiens, at least for the mature squamules (but you can get some large P. decipiens occassionally), 4) Psora crenata does not extend as far into the dry parts of the arid zone as Psora decipiens, and is possibly only found in South Australia or near the border with VIC/NSW
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