#dailylichenpost

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Umbilicaria polyrrhiza

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Dactylina madreporiformis (syn. Allocetraria madreporiformis)

This finger-like little friend grows on soil, sand silt, and plant debris in arctic-alpine regions. Think very cold and very windy, far north, or at high elevations. It is apparently widespread throughout the Alps, so I know exactly where I am headed when this lockdown ends! 

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Crocodia aurata

This lichen is gorgeous! I mean, just look at that neon lobe liner. A real statement piece.This foliose member of the Lobariaceae family forms broad, sinuous, undulating lobes 5-15 mm wide. Lobe magins are covered in bright neon-yellow soredia, and lobe tips are covered in thin, hair-like structures. The upper thallus color is bright green when moist, and turns an ashy gray or tan when dry. The lower surface is pale and tomentose, and is often speckled with bright yellow pseudocyphallae. Apothecia are rare, and form submarginal, glabrous discs. C. aurata can be found in temperate, tropical, and suptropical localities where it colonizes trees in humid, open forests. 

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Usnea longissima 

Old man’s beard, Methuselah’s beard lichen, bearded lichen, hanging hair

This lichen is on my list of things I wanna see before I die! U. longissima is a fruticose lichen and is the longest lichen in the world! No surprise there. It can grow to be over 30cm long. Besides its shear length, it is characterized by light yellow-green coloration, short side branches along that long stem, and tendency to hang pendulum like down from conifer branches. U. longissima is found growing in boreal and coastal forests in the northern hemisphere, though its range used to be entirely global. Usneas are known to be very nitrogen sensitive, so are only found growing in areas with little air pollution, and populations have been decreasing in recent years because you know, air pollution and deforestation and all the other stuff we are doing to the environment. There are other fruticose lichens that can also look fluffy like this guy, but if you want to know if the beardy lichen near you is an Usnea, give the central stem a gentle tug, and if it feels elastic, you have yourself an Usnea, and if it is longer than you are tall, it is probs definitely U. logissima.

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Xanthoria parietina 

Common orange lichen, maritime sunburst lichen, shore lichen   

Starting off with this charismatic pal, X. parietina. Easily recognizable due to its orange, foliose lobes and habit of growing anywhere and everywhere, this species is incredibly tolerant of pollution and human activity, and will probably takeover the world soon. In spite of that obnoxiously neon hue, its photosymbiont is actually green algae. Also, it was first described by Carl Linnaeus, you know, just the father of taxonomy, so that’s pretty cool. 

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Graphis scripta

Common script lichen, secret language lichen

There are a host of Graphis lichens to choose from when highlighting this particular genus of script lichens, but I decided to go with the most common species, G. scripta. Well, maybe it is not really the most common. With over 300 very similar looking species, this particular species name may be over subscribed. Like the other members of the Graphidacae family (thought to have the most species of any lichen family), G. scripta is crustose, and lacks a thallus. It is a lightly colored cream or gray, with those distinct lirellate apothicia that give it the appearance of writing. It can also have immersed pycnidia. It prefers to grow on the smooth bark of deciduous trees. As mentioned above, there is some debate on if this particular species is restricted to temperate zones, or if the species concept should be applied to more wide-spread tropical and sub-tropical species. Either way, you are likely to run into a Graphis somewhere out there, so keep your eyes open for this cool lichen pal, and maybe you will decode what it is trying to tell us with its mysterious writings. 

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Cladonia chlorophaea

Today, we are joined by this beautiful Cladonia, C. cholophaea! Cladonia are generally recognizable due to their crustose primary thallus, and those hollow, stalk-like poditia (those goblet protrusions on this species) which compromise the secondary thallus. This particular species grows on wood, rock, and dirt in temperate-boreal climates worldwide. This species is easily confused with C. grayi and C. pyxidata, and can typically only be distinguished in the lab. Either way, they are all adorable little babies and I love them.  Subscribe for more daily lichens! 

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Lichen Terminology

Crustose: Crusty lichens! Fully attached to the substrate. Usually can’t be removed without damaging the lichen and or the substrate.

Foliose: Leafy lichens! Flat, usually detached from the substrate at various points so that you can see the upper and lower thallus and remove them from their substrate.

Fruticose: Fluffy lichens! They have a tufted or stalked thallus, and it can be difficult to determine an upper and lower surface. Often look like little plants.

Squamulose: Scaly lichens! Thallus made up of small, flat, overlapping units. Not as attached as crustose lichens, but more attached than foliose lichens.

Thallus: The lichen body which contains both the fungal and photobiont (algal or cyanobacterial) components. Cortex: The protective outer wall of the thallus made of specialized fungal hyphae. Lichens can have separate upper and lower cortexes, a wrap-around cortex, a single cortex, or no cortex.

Rhizines: Kinda like the roots of a lichen. Little filaments that protrude out of the bottom of the thallus and attach the lichen to the substrate.

Cilia: Stringy protrusions projecting from the sides or upper surface of the lichen. Different from rhizines.

Photobiont: The symbiotic component of the lichen that performs photosynthesis. An algae or a cyanobacteria.

Podetia: Hollow, stalk-like protrusions of Cladonia lichens  

Apothecia (apothecium): A fruiting (sexually reproducing) structure produced by the fungal component of the lichen. Usually rounded cup which contains fungal spores. Not present on all lichens, but often help with identification. And are very cute.

Perithecium (pl. perithecia): An embedded, flask-shaped ascocarp (fruiting body) in the thallus that releases sexual fungal ascospores. Often only visible from the outside as a small hole or pore.

Isidia (isidium): Small thallus outgrowth that acts as an asexual propagule for lichens, and contain both fungal and algal constituents. They can detach and grow a whole new lichen clone! They have a cortex. 

Soralia and Soredia: Soralia look like cracks in the lichen surface filled with powdery granules (the soredia). Soredia are another asexual propagule and include both mycobiont and photobiont constituents, and they lack a cortex.

Schizidia (schizidium): Scale-like asexual propagules. They have an upper cortex but no lower cortex. 

Macula: small pale spot resulting from a lack of photobiont cells in that area of the thallus. 

Pruina: Powdery deposit of crystalized calcium oxalate, secondary lichen metabolites, or dead fungal cells. Makes the surface of the lichen look frosty or chalky (adj. pruinose).

Cyphella: A recessed pore in the lower thallus surface with a pale rim where fungal hyphae poke through. Round, usually pale, fuzzy-looking spots. 

Pseudocyphellium:  A pore on the lichen thallus surface lacking cortex so medullary hyphae stick out. Lacks a defined rim, can be linear or orbicular. 

Pycnidium (pl. pycnidia): An embedded, round or pear-shaped structure that goes down through the thallus and into the medulla and produces small spores that can either be asexual propagules or spermatia. Appears as a small, dark pore in the lichen surface.

Areolate: A crustose thallus growth form that appears tile-like in appearance. It looks like dried and cracked paint/clay. Each individual section is an areole.

Rimose: A crustose thallus growth form that has cracks, splits, or striations. 

I will continue to edit and add more as needed!

Updated: 11.14.24

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Pseudocyphellaria crocata

Yellow specklebelly 

Take a look at P. crocata! This golden boy is a medium sized foliose lichen with a wrinkly and cracked lobe surface. The coloration is brownish-gray--fawish red when dry, dark brownihs and blue when dry. And of course, this lichen produces neon yellow soredia across the cracked surface in pseudocyphellae (patches missing a thallus surface where the medullary hyphae protrude) and along its frayed margins. It It produces simple, reddish apothecia,but they are rarely observed. It can be found on wood, rocks, and bryophytes in well-lit and moist habitats. However, while it has been considered a wide ranging and and cosmopolitan species, a recent genetic study of P. crocata sampled from the US. revealed 13 different look-alike species (2 which were completely new to science) that had been confused for P. crocata which were actually genetically distinct, and in fact, that found that none of their samples were P. crocata! Oops! So a revision of this genus and the homerange of the species therein is currently taking place. 

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Nephroma arcticum 

Arctic kidney lichen, greenlight, kusskoak

OK, I am low-key obsessed with this very cute boy. Could probs talk about him all day if you let me. Will try not to. N. arcticum is a foliose tripartite lichen, which means it can contain either an algal photobiont, a cyanobacterial photobiont, or both! If the upper thallus color is bright greenish, you are looking at an primary algal symbiote, if the thallus color is a dark grayish-greenish-bluish, that’s a primary cyanobacterial symbiote, and if you see bright green lobes with dark spots, that’s both! The lower surface is usually duller brown or tan, darker toward the center and growing lighter near the margins. The lobes are between 2-5 cm wide, and can form large, loose colonies that can grow anywhere between 6 cm to 1 m wide. Apothecia are 1-3 cm long, curved, reddish-brown plates that look vaguely kidney like, which is where the common name comes from. It typically grows on mossy substrates in cold arctic habitats. In fact, indigenous people from the North American Arctic boil N. arcticum and eat it with roe, or drink it in a tea. And speaking of eating, apparently Unilever has patented anti-freeze proteins produced by N. arcticum and use these proteins in the production of non-dairy Breyers ice cream! (source) Keeps it soft and creamy, just like those proteins keep the lichen from freezing solid in those cold arctic climates. Seriously, lichens are so fucking great. 

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Gyalolechia flavoviresecens  (syn. Caloplaca flavovoirescens)

Sulfur firedot lichen

Sometimes when I am researching a lichen, I come across a plethora of images that don’t all look like the same lichen even though they are labelled the same, and I don’t know if I am looking at different growth forms, different growth stages, differences is camera exposure, or complete misidentifications. Such is the case with G. flavovirescens, so take these images with a grain of salt. This crustose lichen has yellowish-greenish-orangish (*cough cough* sulfur colored) areoles with a black prothallus around the margins. Its adnate apothecia present as lecanorine, burnt orange discs or bulges. It can also have pycnidia immersed in the thallus. One of the main tools used in lichen identification is chemical testing, and with this lichen, a sure way to know that you are looking at G. flavovirescens is to dab a drop of KOH (Potassium hydroxide) on the thallus and watch for a color change. This lichen will have a strong reaction and will turn dark red-purple in the area of the K spot test! Pretty cool, right? It can be found chilling on rocks all over the world. So grab your bottle of potassium hydroxide and go out and find this stunning boi!

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Cladonia cariosa

Lesser ribbed pixie lichen

C. cariosa is a classic cladonia in regards to its squamulose thallus and those hollow, stalk-like podetia. But look at those chusnut apothecia! Irregular and blobby and glossy. They are everything. Interestingly, this species has been subject to phylogenetic analysis, and what the scientists found was that this species has four distinct genetic lineages which correspond with morphological and chemical variations, justifying division of this lichen into multiple species! (source). I love shit like this because it shows how many mysteries there are left in natural science, and how new technology leads to new discoveries everyday! Warms my heart.

Cladonia are often described as “charismatic”, and  when I hear that term applied to a lichen I get this weird thought in my head of that lichen at a dinner party, drink in hand, surrounded by laughing friends hanging on their every word. But I mean, just look at C. cariosa. Can’t you see it? It would totally be the life of the party. You can find this friend entertaining in damp, thin soils in temperate habitats in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

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Coccocarpia palmicola 

Salted shell lichen, coccocarpia lichen

I am really feeling the cold weather today, so here’s a lichen whose very name summons images of tropical beaches and sunshine, C. palmicola! This foliose lichen has fan/wedge shaped () lobes that are 1-4 mm wide which can be loosely or tightly attached to the substrate.The surface is typically a smooth, glossy slate gray, with numerous isidia forming a dense mat toward the center of the rosette, and pycnidia are common across the entire surface. Apothecia are rare, but when present, are usually flat, dark, and tightly adhere to the surface. You can also see those fuzzy tomentum growing along the margins! Contrary to the suggestion of the name that this species is found on palm trees, C. palmicola grows on mossy rocks, soil, and many species of smooth-barked trees. And it breaks the mold even further by seemingly growing wherever the hell it wants, be it a tropical or arctic locality worldwide. It gets a little chilly and I have to wrap up in a blanket with a hot cup of tea to get anything done, but this guy is out there killing it wherever they go. Lichens are truly the superior organism. 

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Pleopsidium chlorophanum

Gold cobblestone lichen

Today’s lichen is another neon-hued friend, P. cholophanum! Crustose, lecanorate, squamulose, this things got it all! This lichen was pretty common in the area where I grew up (Idaho), but has been noted for its ability to grow and thrive even in harsh conditions (harsher than Idaho!) like high alpine regions, hot deserts, and even in cracks in rocky outcrops in Antarctica! This bad boy is so good at surviving that some astrobiologists built a Mars simulation chamber, threw this baby in there, and low and behold, it not only survived, but ADAPTED TO THE MARTIAN CONDITIONS! (source) So yeah, this lichen is pretty great all around, and serves as a good model for the sheer raw power of symbiosis. Subscribe for more daily lichen content! 

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Lichenomphalia umbellifera

OK, OK, I know what you’re thinking. Lichenaday, I may not know lichens all that well, but I know what the fuck a mushroom is, and that’s a mushroom. And hey we are both right! This is indeed L. umbrellifera -- a lichenized agaric fungus! The thallus of this friend is made up of inconspicuous, granular lobes that contain an algal photobiont within the mycelium! But of course, this species is noteworthy for those mushroomy fruiting bodies which produce sexual spores like any toadstool does. It is important to not that when you are looking at any mushroom, you are actually looking at the fruiting body of a network of fungal hyphea that  make up the main body of the fungus. Kinda like looking at an apple and remembering that is came from a tree. But instead of this fruting body connecting to a fungal network, it connects to the symbiotic network that defines a lichen! Super cool, right? L. umbrellifera can be found growing on acidic soil and rotting wood in cool, damp climates. And of course, it derives its species name from the fact that it looks like little fairy umbrellas. So precious! 

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Trapeliopsis granulosa

Granular mottled-disk lichen 

I was doing some research on lichen dispersal when I came across this interesting lichen and had to share! T. granulosa is a granular, verrucose (wart-like), crustose lichen that is widely distributed around the world. It can be recognized by those greyish-greenish-whiteish convex areoles that make up the dense crust, and its irregular, blobby apothecia. It is considered an important colonizer of burned forest land as it prefers mineral-rich or acidic soils and decaying or charred wood, and play a role in the development of open conifer stands (source). Personally, it kinda reminds me of those popcorn ceilings that were popular in the 70s and 80s until we all found out the contained asbestos. Instead of that, maybe try covering your ceiling in T. granulosa! If it can establish itself off charred soil, maybe it could establish on your ceiling! Go ahead, try it! 

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