Niebla and Vermilacinia (Ramalinaceae) from California and Baja California.  
Spjut, R.W., 1996. ISSN 0833-1475, 208 pp.  
Sida, Botanical Miscellany 14. Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Inc.

Isla Santa Margarita, Spjut & Marin 10692, Apr 1989

Population of N. contorta,
near Punta Prieta E of Bahía Asunción, BCS

Punta Prieta E of Bahía Asunción, BCS
Spjut & Marin 11595

Punta Eugenia, Spjut & Marin 9733, May 1986

Arroyo at San Andrés,
Vizcaíno Peninsula,
Spjut 9593, May 1986

7 mi S of Bahía Asunción, BCS, Spjut 9505. May 1986

7 mi S of Bahía Asunción, BCS, Spjut 9506B (type). May 1986

     Niebla contorta was discovered on the Vizcaíno Peninsula near Bahía Asunción as a single dominant population of a Niebla community on calcareous-siliceous rocks with rare occurrences of Vermilacinia paleoderma.  Thalli of N. contorta at this location were fairly uniform as shown in one photo.  Collections of N. contorta from other sites on the Vizcaíno Peninsula and from Isla Santa Margarita exhibited other morphological types that seemed best included with N. contorta.  Those from Punta Eugenia and one other from Punta Cono, where relatively rare, have lobes that appear more ligulate or canaliculate.  While this might suggest either N. dilatata or N. caespitosa, these species differ by having more flattened branches in which the branches appear less definitive in their shape; those of N. dilatata are rounded to apex and thickened at the margins, while those of N. caespitosa are narrowed to a pointed apex and have thinner margins.  Another related species, N. rugosa, differs by the regular transverse ridging on the upper parts of branches or lobes.  Niebla contorta is generally distinguished from other divaricatic-acid species by the relatively smaller thallus—less than 3.5 cm high, and by the absence of pigmentation near the base of the thallus.