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Niebla podetiaforma was first collected as a sample
for anticancer screening in May 1985 (Spjut & Marin 9077),
while also gathering a sample of Vermilacinia cephalota (Spjut & Marin
9076) from leeward rocky slopes above Rancho San Andrés.
Niebla was scattered on pebbles of slopes. Only one species
seemed clearly evident, one that was consistent in having mostly simple
turgid branches, in contrast to a preceding collection (Spjut & Marin 9073)
that was less uniform in chemical and morphological features, obtained
from a nearby rock wall along an arroyo. A TLC analysis of Spjut & Marin 9077 proved
consistent in its lichen metabolites of divaricatic acid and accessory triterpenes, duplicates of which
were later submitted to the Lichen Exchange at ASU. This is similar to Spjut 9942
shown above, collected from a nearby slope
in May 1986 for a Baja lichen flora.
For novices to Niebla taxonomy,
and also for the skeptics,
N. podetiaforma is perhaps one of the first species most likely to be
understood. A morph with notably inflated lobes such as shown above for
Spjut 11301 is easily associated with others that have less
inflated branches such as Spjut & Marin 12478, which is similar to the type (Spjut
9937). These and other variants can be found in a
single population as along the road to Punta Santa Rosalillita where it
appears as the only species of Niebla present. Although N. podetiaforma
occurs commonly away from the coast, it is also found along the immediate
coast as one of the “pebble Nieblas” (Spjut 1996). It is mostly endemic to the
Northern Vizcaíno
Desert where common between Punta Santa Rosalillita and Mesa Santa Catarina,
but occurs frequently further north to near El Rosario.
Within its range, there are several other species that perhaps may cause
confusion in identification. The most problematic is N. undulata.
It is similar to N. podetiaforma in having small tufts of branches—less
than 20—from a holdfast. One does not actually need to count the branches;
rather, this number is generally provided as a guide in contrast to one other
related species, N. turgida, that differs by its larger size and more
acutely prismatic branchlets. Niebla undulata, on the other hand,
is distinguished by its cortex appearing more smooth or recessed between
cortical ridges, the color often appearing bluish-green, and its branches are
usually more strongly undulate to below the mid region with marginal apothecia
less developed towards apex. Niebla podetiaforma,
by comparison, has a more finely reticulate cortex and branches that are not as contorted,
and apothecia, if present, generally mature nearer the apex. |
