Elegant Sunburst Lichen

Xanthoria elegans (Link) Th.Fr.

Also called: elegant orange wall lichen

Edibility

Edibility unknown — do not eat

Never eat a wild mushroom based on this site or any app.

Photos

Photo: Daughter Dad. CC-BY. Source (inaturalist)
Photo: machaut2. CC-BY. Source (inaturalist)
Photo: Craig Martin. CC0. Source (inaturalist)
Photo: Z. CC-BY. Source (inaturalist)

Lookalikes

No lookalikes are recorded for this species yet. That does not mean there are none. Many mushrooms look alike, so never rely on appearance alone.

Season

When this species has been recorded, by month, from open-licensed US and Canada observations. It shows when people report it, not a guarantee it is fruiting.

The highlighted bar is the current month.

View season data as a table

Recorded observations of Elegant Sunburst Lichen by month
Month	Records
January	96
February	67
March	145
April	160
May	265
June	608
July	997
August	716
September	239
October	153
November	75
December	46

Where it is found

States and provinces with the most records. Check the foraging rules for the place you plan to visit.

Colorado 383 records · Foraging rules
Minnesota 287 records · Foraging rules
Ontario 238 records · Foraging rules
California 224 records · Foraging rules
British Columbia 203 records · Foraging rules
Michigan 192 records · Foraging rules
North Dakota 190 records · Foraging rules
Quebec 184 records · Foraging rules
Nunavut 183 records · Foraging rules
Alaska 175 records · Foraging rules
South Dakota 159 records · Foraging rules
Wyoming 125 records · Foraging rules
New Mexico 104 records · Foraging rules
Montana 90 records · Foraging rules
Maine 89 records · Foraging rules

Show 32 more

Iowa88 records
Northwest Territories78 records
Manitoba67 records
Massachusetts66 records
Utah65 records
Washington62 records
Alberta55 records
Newfoundland and Labrador52 records
Nevada52 records
Arizona50 records
Yukon46 records
Vermont43 records
Wisconsin40 records
Oregon31 records
Nebraska28 records
New York27 records
Idaho27 records
Nova Scotia20 records
Texas14 records
Saskatchewan12 records
New Brunswick9 records
Kansas9 records
New Hampshire5 records
West Virginia4 records
Ohio4 records
North Carolina3 records
Prince Edward Island3 records
Illinois2 records
Pennsylvania2 records
Rhode Island2 records
New Jersey1 records
Louisiana1 records

All state and province foraging laws

About

Rusavskia elegans (formerly Xanthoria elegans), commonly known as the elegant sunburst lichen, is a lichenized species of fungus in the genus Rusavskia, family Teloschistaceae. Recognized by its bright orange or red pigmentation, this species grows on rocks, often near bird or rodent perches. It has a circumpolar and alpine distribution. It was one of the first lichens to be used for the rock-face dating method known as lichenometry.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the original article.