Placopyrenium heppioides (Zahlbr.) Breuss (2002:395)
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Dermatocarpon heppioides Zahlbr. in Annal. Mycol. 10: 359 (1912); Catapyrenium heppioides (Zahlbr.) J.W.Thomson in Bryologist 90(1): 33 (1987)
Conservation Status
Missing (NatureServe, 2026) or Rediscovered(?)
Only known from two collections (i.e. 1909 and 1911) at the type locality in the Santa Monica Mountains of southern California according to Thomson (1987), and consequently listed as GH (Possibly Extinct) by NatureServe since 1999 (NatureServe, 2026). It was also reported as known only from southern California by (Breuss, 2002:395). However, there are multiple herbarium specimens (including from other states and Mexico) putatively identified as P. heppioides that post-date 1911 (Consortium of Lichen Herbaria, 2026). If these later records are accurate, then it is unclear whether the species was rediscovered or is merely rarely collected.
Distribution & Habitat
Los Angeles area, Santa Monica Mountains, southern California, USA
Type locality: "Californien: Santa Monica-Gebirge, Topanga Cañons, auf Sandstein" (Zahlbruckner, 1912:359)
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Hesse 1319
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Zahlbruckner, A. (1912). Neue Flechten VI. Annales Mycologici 10: 359.
Other references:
Breuss, Othmar. (2002). Placopyrenium, pp. 394-396 [395]. In: Nash, Thomas H., III, Ryan, Bruce D., Gries, Corinna and Bungartz, Frank (eds.). Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol. 1 (including most of the pyrenolichens, squamulose lichens and macrolichens). Tempe, Arizona: Lichens Unlimited. ix + 532 pp.
Consortium of Lichen Herbaria. (2026). Placopyrenium heppioides (Zahlbr.) Breuss. In: Consortium of Lichen Herbaria. Available at: https//:lichenportal.org/portal/index.php [Accessed on 17 August 2026]
Esslinger, T. L. (2018). A cumulative checklist for the lichen-forming, lichenicolous and allied fungi of the continental United States and Canada, Version 22. Opuscula Philolichenum 17: 6-268.
Esslinger, T. L. and Egan, R. S. (1995). A sixth checklist of the lichen-forming, lichenicolous, and allied fungi of the continental United States and Canada. The Bryologist 98(4): 467-549.
IndexFungorum. (2026). Published on the Internet https://www.indexfungorum.org, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [Retrieved 18 August 2026]
NatureServe. (2026). Placopyrenium heppioides. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available at: https://explorer.natureserve.org/ [Accessed 17 August 2026]
Species Fungorum. (2026). Published on the Internet https://www.speciesfungorum.org, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [Retrieved 18 August 2026].
Thomson, John W. (1987). The lichen genera Catapyrenium and Placidiopsis in North America. The Bryologist 90(1): 27-39.
https://vanishingflora.proboards.com/thread/1876/catapyrenium-heppioides