Cladonia ramulosa (With.) J. R. Laundon s.l.

          Primary thallus reduced to a few small squamules, upper surface greenish, gray-green, lower surface whitish. Podetia very variable, erect, in a tuft or cushion which can reach 3 cm in height, more or less deformed, sometimes branched or ending in an imperfect non-perforated cup in its center, with elongated or short digitate excrescences or without excrescences, the podetia as a whole is squamulous or granular with or without soredia, greenish-yellowish, greenish-gray more grayish in dry weather, the base is not black. Apothecia variable, sometimes absent or numerous and then grouped at the top of the podetions, brownish, more or less translucent in humid weather. Spores elongated, sometimes "banana like", 12-16 x 3-5 µm. Photobiont: trebouxioid. Thallus: C-, K-, KC-, P+ red, UV- and more rarely C-, K+ yellow or brown-yellow, KC+ yellow, P+ red. Uncommon species with coastal affinities growing at the level of clumps of Armeria maritima on rather acidic soils, also on gravelly or sandy soils near the coast, sometimes lignicole or on soils rich in woody debris, also inside the lands.

N.B. Extraordinarily variable species which contains several taxa which have given rise to the description of numerous varieties and forms of little taxonomic interest and some of which are only known to their author... We indicate some of them here as a curiosity:

Forms without soredia:

_ morpho. ramulosa: Squamulous podetia with indistinct scyphus with squamuliform granulations in the cup.

_ morpho. gracilior: Podetia not or slightly squamulous with digitations at the margin of the cup.

_ morpho. scyphifera: Cortical scyphus without digitations at the margin of the cup but with apothecia and pycnidia.

_ morpho. phyllophora: Squamulous podetia without scyphus.

_ morpho. subuliformis: Podetia not or slightly squamulous without scyphus.

Forms with soredia:

_ morpho. hololepis: Squamulous podetia with scyphus

_ morpho. cladomorpha: Podetia little or not squamulous and only granular with more or less distinct scyphus whose margin of the cup bears some digitations.

_ morpho. squamulifera: Squamulous podetia with scyphus.

_ morpho. subacuta: Podetia only granular and without, or with few squamules, ending in a point and without scyphus but may bear brown apothecia.

It is also possible to describe chemoforms: see for example:

_ Cladonia ramulosa chemo acide fumarprotocetrarique.

N.B. See Cladonia phyllophora very similar to certain forms but whose base of the podetia is blackish and which is more mountainous or continental.