thallus C-; disk C+y/o Note the soralia(!) There are several taxa in the L. rupicola group with soralia, as it turns out: L. rouxii (looks totally different), L. lojkeana (looks extremely similar, see photos by Stridvalls), and L. rupicola var. sorediata (thanks to Bruce McCune for bringing this name to my attention). L. lojkeana has the same capitate gray/black-peppered soralia, however it related to L. swartzii with a well-developed eucortex. While this specimen does have a distinct cortex, it is not nearly as well-developed as L. swartzii (I compared to a reference specimen I have from eastern Washington). And since L. bicincta was common in the vicinity, I conclude that this is "just" a sorediate form of L. bicincta. L. rupicola var. sorediata is probably the correct name for this, since L. bicincta is almost certainly a synonym of L. rupicola. (The blackened inner excipular ring is highly variable, sometimes within a single thallus, depending on exposure.)