Melanohalea nilgirica

Melanohalea nilgirica is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in India, it was described as a new species in 2005 by lichenologists Pradeep Divakar and Dalip Kumar Upreti. The type was collected from the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu, at an elevation of 2000 m. Its thallus is about 6 cm in diameter, with a reddish-brown to dark brown upper surface. It is characterized by flat, dot-like pseudocyphellae that are flush with the lobe surface, white capitate soralia, and presence of caperatic acid. This is the only known occurrence of this compound in the genus Melanohalea.