Σημειώσεις: Locality: 35°37’14.76"N, 83°40’39.11"W, el. 524 m

Substrate and habitat: Growing on the external (outdoors) face of a stone fireplace on one of the long-abandoned Elkmont summer homes. These properties were bought for inclusion in the national park in the 1920’s and 1930’s, but arrangements with some of the owners permitted their continued use until the last of such leases ran out in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Chemistry: Thallus K+ deep reddish-purple (immediately)

Identification: The online Bennett-Wetmore checklist of the lichens in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park includes 4 species of Caloplaca:

Caloplaca cerina
Caloplaca diphasia
Caloplaca flavovirescens
Caloplaca holocarpa

As of March 2010, the CNALH range maps for those 4 species do not show any locality records for the park, but the online Duke lichen collection includes a record of Caloplaca flavovirescens collected by Lendemer on the Baxter Creek Trail, Mt. Sterling Ridge, at 2700 feet on 28 Oct 2006 (DUKE 131276).

Common name: firedot lichen