Heppia conchiloba

Heppia conchiloba
Conservation status
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Lichinomycetes
Order:	Lichinales
Family:	Lichinaceae
Genus:	Heppia
Species:	H. conchiloba
Binomial name
Heppia conchiloba Zahlbr. (1902)

Heppia conchiloba (common soil ruby) is a gray to light brown squamulous to foliose terricolous (grows on soil) lichen that occurs in southwestern deserts of North America. The surface appears as if covered in a light dust (pruinose). ^{[2] [3]} The squamules are peltate (like shields attached from the lower surface), up to 8 mm in diameter. ^[2] There are one to several apothecia per lobe, with reddish-brown urn-shaped (urceolate) to concave discs, immersed so as to appear like concave spots. ^{[2] [3]} Lichen spot tests are all negative. Its entire thallus body is deeply convex, and it is different in color from other members of Heppia and or Peltula , which are olive or brownish-olive. ^[2]

References

1. NatureServe. "Heppia conchiloba". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
2. Nash, T.H.; Ryan, B.D.; Gries, C.; Bungartz, F., eds. (2002). Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol. 1. Arizona State University. p. 205 .
3. 1 2 Sharnoff, Stephen (2014). Field Guide to California Lichens. Yale University Press. pp. 272–273. ISBN   978-0-300-19500-2.