| Punctelia appalachensis | |
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| A wet specimen found in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Parmeliaceae |
| Genus: | Punctelia |
| Species: | P. appalachensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Punctelia appalachensis | |
| Synonyms | |
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Punctelia appalachensis, commonly known as the Appalachian speckled shield lichen, [1] is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in the eastern United States [1] and eastern Canada. [2] The lichen was first formally described in 1962 by lichenologist William Culberson as a species of Parmelia . He collected the type specimen growing on tree bark in West Virginia, [3] Hildur Krog transferred it to the newly circumscribed genus Punctelia in 1982. [4]
The thallus of Punctelia appalachensis is shiny and greenish-gray (drier individuals are bluish-grey); [5] the surface is covered with maculae (spots or blotches) and pseudocyphellae. The underside of the thallus is black, at least in the center, with pale brown edges. [1] Its dark underside allows it to be readily distinguished from other morphologically similar species in its range, such as Punctelia rudecta or P. caseana . [5] The lichen usually grows on the bark of trees, but is sometimes found growing on rock. [1]
