Niebla halei
Niebla halei is a fruticose lichen that grows on rocks along the foggy Pacific Coast of northern California on San Bruno Mountain The epithet, halei is in honor of Mason Hale who encouraged taxonomic revision of the genus Niebla.
Distinguishing features
Niebla halei is characterized by a tiny hemispherical thallus, 1.5 cm high and 2.5 cm across, with numerous very narrow branches, 0.3–1.0 mm wide, arising from a common attachment area on rock, and by dividing several or more times, more so near apex where shortly bifurcate or antler-like. Black dot-like pycnidia that generally characterize the genus are inconspicuous at apex of branches. The key lichen substance is divaricatic acid.The increased branching of the thallus towards apex is similar to that of Niebla dactylifera, known only from San Nicolas Island; it differs in having the lichen substance, sekikaic acid. The cortical ridging and branching of N. halei are also similar to specimens collected by Charis Bratt on Santa Cruz Island and in the Santa Ynez Mountains on mainland California, referred to Niebla testudinaria by the larger size and less frequent occurrence of short bifurcate branches near apex.