Vermilacinia, a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Ramalinaceae, is a yellow-green fruticose type of lichen with about 30 species that grow on rocks, trees, and soil within the fog zone along the Pacific Coast of North America and South America. The genus name refers to the thallus being divided into narrow worm-like (vermis) branches (lacinia);the latter part of the name (lacinia) generally applied in descriptions and taxonomic keys such as exemplified in a key to Sonoran Desert species of Ramalina.
Niebla homalea is a species of fruticose lichen that grows on rocks in foggy areas along the Pacific Coast of North America, from Mendocino County, California south to Bahía de San Quintín on the main peninsula of Baja California, with an isolated occurrence further south on vertical rock faces above Punta Camachos, and other occurrences in the Channel Islands and on Guadalupe Island. The epithet homalea, given by Acharius, suggests it was in regard to the branches appearing flattened.
Vermilacinia acicularis is a fruticose lichen that occurs in the Channel Islands of California. The type specimen was collected from San Clemente Island. Other specimens have been collected from Santa Barbara Island and Anacapa Island.
Vermilacinia cedrosensis is a species of pale fruticose lichen that is endemic to Baja California, Mexico.
Vermilacinia johncasadyi is a rare fruticose lichen, found on rocks along the Pacific Coast of Baja California peninsula on Punta Cono, and directly westward across the ocean on Cedros Island.
Vermilacinia laevigata is a fruticose lichen that occurs in the fog zone along the Pacific Coast of the California Floristic Province from Marin County, California to 15 miles south of Misión San Vicente Ferrer in Baja California
Vermilacinia ligulata is an infrequent lichen found along the foggy Pacific Coast of Baja California in rock-walled narrow arroyos, on rocky peninsulas and on ridges within the Northern Vizcaíno Desert region, ranging from Punta Cono to just north of Punta Canoas, and along the east coast of Cedros Island. The species was first collected in May 1985 in the southern part of the northern peninsula of Baja California, about 100 km north of Guerrero Negro, 400 meters inland from the ocean on rocky walls with a northern exposure in a narrow estuary. The type is from the same locality but collected one year later, 19 May 1986.
Vermilacinia paleoderma is a pale yellow-green fruticose lichen that occurs commonly along the fog zone of the Pacific Coast of Northern Vizcaíno Desert region of Baja Californica and occasionally in the Chaparral Islands of California.
Vermilacinia polymorpha is a fruticose lichen infrequently found on Santa Catalina Island in the Channel Islands of California and along the mainland coast in Ventura and Orange counties. It has also been indicated to occur south into northwestern Baja California without reference to specimens to support its range extension, and shown to occur on the Vizcaíno Peninsula in central Baja California on a distribution map in a lichen flora, without reference to specimen data; however, specimen data from other sources indicate it does occur as far south as Punta Santa Rosalillita on the main peninsula of Baja California, and also reported from Guadalupe Island.
Vermilacinia procera is a fruticose lichen of local occurrences on rocks near the sea along the Pacific Coast from San Francisco California to the Channel Islands, and to Punta Escarpada in Baja California. The species is also reported to occur further south to the Vizcaíno Peninsula and on Cedros Island, but these reports are controversial in view of different interpretations of the species that include V. pumila and V. paleoderma that were not recognized at the time V. procera was described ; for example, a specimen collected on Guadalupe Island by Weber and MCoy (L-3605, COLO that was cited by Phillip Rundel and Peter Bowler in 1994 as belonging to Niebla procera, whereas in a revision of the genus by Richard Spjut in 1996, it was cited as belonging to Vermilacinia paleoderma. Both authorities generally agree to some extent on the description of the species and its geographical range within the California Floristic Province.
Vermilacinia rigida is a dark green, rare fruticose lichen that occurs in fog areas along the Pacific Coast of Baja California, known only from two locations about 100 km north of Guerrero Negro. The epithet, rigida, is in regard to its stiff thallus branches.
Vermilacinia tigrina is a fruticose lichen that grows on branches of shrubs and on earth among cactus and shrubs in the fog regions along the Pacific Coast of North America and South America; in North America found in the Channel Islands and near San Diego, California, and in central and southern Baja California; and in South America from Peru to Chile. The epithet is in reference to the irregular black spots or bands on the thallus branches.
Vermilacinia zebrina is a fruticose lichen that grows on bark of trees and shrubs, occasionally on rocks, in the fog regions along the Pacific Coast of North America, from Puget Sound in northern Washington to near El Rosario in Baja California. The epithet, zebrina, is in reference to the black transverse bands on the thallus branches; however, the species is interpreted to include thalli without black bands.
Niebla fimbriata is a fruticose lichen that grows on volcanic rocks in the Channel Islands of California and along the foggy Pacific Coast of Baja California from near San Antonio del Mar south to Arroyo Sauces, which is located south of Punta Canoas. The epithet, fimbriata is in reference to the fringed branches of the thallus.
Niebla infundibula is a fruticose lichen that grows on rocks along the Pacific Coast in the Channel Islands of California and in Baja California on Guadalupe Island, and on the main peninsula in the southern region of the Northern Vizcaíno Desert on a ridge south of Punta Negra. The epithet, infundibula, is in reference to the funnel shape of the thallus branches.
Niebla juncosa is a fruticose lichen that grows on rock, stony soil and sand along the Pacific Coast of Baja California from Punta Banda to Morro Santo Dominogo. The epithet, juncosa is in reference to the thallus divided into rush-like branches, the stems of the flowering plant genus Juncus.
Niebla rugosa is a fruticose lichen that grows on rocks along the foggy Pacific Coast of Baja California in the Vizcaíno Desert. The epithet, rugosa is in reference to the wrinkled reticulated surface of the thallus.
Niebla siphonoloba is a fruticose lichen that grows on rocks along the foggy Pacific Coast of North America, in the Channel Islands, and from Bahía de San Quintín, Baja California to the Vizcaíno Peninsula. The epithet, siphonoloba is in reference to the pipe-like shape of the thallus branches.
Niebla sorocarpia is a fruticose lichen that grows on rocks along the foggy Pacific Coast of California in the Channel Islands and in Baja California in the Northern Vizcaíno Desert. The epithet, sorocarpia, is in reference to the terminal aggregate apothecia.
Niebla suffnessii is a fruticose lichen that grows on rocks along the foggy Pacific Coast of North America within the Vizcaíno Desert region of Baja California. The epithet, suffnessii, is in honor of Matthew Suffness who was Chief of the Natural Products Branch in the National Cancer Institute during the late 1970s to mid 1980s, and later a coordinator of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) contracts for the drug discovery groups, and who also encouraged the screening of lichens and bryophytes in the search for new anticancer drugs.
