Lichenologist 8, 2: 113 (1976).
Basionym: Parmelia albicans Pers., Ann. Wetter. Gesellsch. Ges. Naturk. 1. Heft 2: 17 (1811).
Protolog: Parmelia albicans, fronde profunde laciniata: laciniis sinuatis subcanaliculatis, subtus fibrosa utinque albida, scutellis concoloribus disco rufis.
Protolog type data: Hab. ad St. Domingo. Poiteau. Muscis increscens, 3 unc. lata, substantia tenuis, medio hinc inde farinosa. Scutellae pro ratione, parvae et parcae modo adsunt, in frone dispersae, margine plicatae, forte per exsiccationem, concavae: disco rubicundo.
Type locality: Haiti ("St. Domingo"), P. A. Poiteau (L - holotype).
Type locality coordinates: Data lacking.
Molecular barcode: Data lacking.
Thallus: foliose, orbicular to irregular, small, less than 3 cm in diameter, firmly adnate; upper surface grey, darker at lobe tips, sometimes weakly pruinose. Lobes narrow, 0.5 - 1.0 mm, short, to 3 mm, usually richly branched, weakly convex, + widening, tips convex, without soralia, not ascending. Soralia white to bluish grey, arising from small lateral knob-like structures forming small, + continuous marginal soralia towards the thallus centre, sometimes becoming granular. Lower surface corticate, whitish to pale brownish, rarely dark grey, weakly rhizinate with usually short, ca. 1 mm, mostly dark brown or black rhizines. Upper and lower cortex prosoplectenchymatous. Apothecia very rare, to 3 mm in diameter, ascospores Pachysporaria-type, without sporoblastidia, 18.5-19.5-28.0-32.5 / 8.5-10.5-13.5-15.0 µm. M=23.8;11.9 µm. SD=4.38;1.60µm. n=16. Pycnidia rare (Moberg 2011: 131).
Photobiont: Green alga.
Chemistry: K+ yellow turning red. Atranorin, zeorin, salazinic acid, unidentified triterpenoids (+) (Moberg 2011: 131). - TLC (holotype): Atranorin, zeorin, salazinic acid, unknown substance (Swinscow & Krog 1976: 113).
Ecology: Mainly on rocks or over mosses on rocks in open situation, rarely on tree trunks in tropical to warm temperate areas (Moberg 2011 ). Restricted to sunny coastal rocks in Myrica faya scrub (Moberg & Purvis 1996: 189). It grows both on rock and on tree trunks (Swinscow & Krog 1976: 113).
Distribution Type: Tropical and subtropical. Haiti (Type). "Ethiopia, Kenya, Canary Islands, South Africa, tropical and warm temperate America" (Swinscow & Krog 1988: 89). - In East Africa scattered and possibly overlooked (Swinscow & Krog 1976: 113). - Azores: Sao Miguel, Faial (Moberg & Purvis 1996: 189) and others.
Note: The french botanist P. A. Poiteau collected exclusively in Haiti, the western, french speaking part of Hispaniola, not in the Dominican Republic.
Distribution Database: Distributions
Distribution Database: Discover Life
Picture Database: Tropical Lichens
Molecular Database: Genbank
Synonym Database: Index Fungorum
Synonym Database: Mycobank
Lobes slightly disjunct, adjacent, more or less plane, not ascending, with short lateral lobes, often giving a crenate margin to main lobes; upper cortex somewhat uneven; lober cortex present. Soralia extended along margins and round apices of lateral lobes, but generally absent from apices of mian lobes, producing finely granular sorediate. Spores 24-35 x 11-15 µm (mean length of 50 in holotype, 26,1 µm, S.D. 1,9), without sporoblastidia (Swinscow & Krog 1976: 113).
Description in Moberg & Purvis (1996: 189).