Xanthoria parietina is a foliose, or leafy, lichen. It has wide distribution, and many common names such as common orange lichen, yellow scale, maritime sunburst lichen and shore lichen. It can be found near the shore on rocks or walls (hence the name parietina meaning "on walls"), and also on inland rocks, walls, or tree bark. It has been chosen as a model organism for genetic sequencing (planned in 2006) by the US DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI). In the past it was used as a remedy for jaundice because of its yellow color.
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