Vainionora americana 

American speck lichen

I heard the U.S. had a pretty big celebration this past weekend. And while I am not a fan of the U.S. as a political entity, I am a big fan of the nature and critters found there in the states, even down to the littlest specks. And by that, I am referring to V. americana, which is native to the eastern US. where it grows in the Blue Ridge mountains down to Alabama. It has a gray-green, rounded, crustose thallus that is areolate to wart-like in texture, often obscured by copious amounts of granular, yellow-green soredia from hemispherical soralia. It produces lecanorine apothecia with pale-pink to brown discs with thick, granular rims. Other members of the Vainionora genus can be found in central and South America, preferring warm, tropical habitats, making V. americana the northernmost species in the group. Just one small part of the diversity that truly makes America (and by that I mean all the Americas) wonderful. Diversity is always worth celebrating and protecting!

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