A crustose lichen with a characteristic orange-grey to rust-red, thick, areolate-cracked thallus and a dark prothallus. Pale to dark, blue-grey soralia, often with a white rim, are scattered or grouped across the thallus.
Medulla: C-, K+- yellow
In Scotland, Porpidia melinodes can be found in the central and western Highlands where it prefers metal-rich, siliceous rock. BLS distribution map
Porpidia melinodes is distinguished from Porpidia flavocruenta on basis of the presence of grey-blue soredia.
scottishlichens.co.uk 