S&SGrapheleg.jpg

Graphis elegans, a scan of a plate from Smith & Sowerby’s English Botany, Vol. X (1843). Smith & Sowerby provide the following well-observed notes: “First found by Mr. W. Borrer in Sussex, growing on the smooth bark of young trees. Thallus several inches broad, circular, white, more or less shining, finely granulated. Apothecia black, scarcely projecting above the crust, accompanied by a slight accessory border, which sometimes turns back. The proper border is very peculiar, being marked with a deep, uninterrupted, longitudinal furrow on both sides of the disc, which latter is narrow. These characters are shown in our section.”