The Cladoniaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Lecanorales, comprising about 560 species distributed amongst 18 genera. This family is one of the largest among lichen-forming fungi and is globally distributed, from Arctic tundra to tropical rainforests, favouring humid environments while being intolerant of arid conditions. Molecular phylogenetics has significantly advanced the understanding of their complex taxonomic history, revealing intricate evolutionary relationships and leading to a refined classification. Notable members include reindeer moss and cup lichens of the genus Cladonia, which consist of about 500 species and forms a significant part of the diet for large mammals in taiga and tundra ecosystems.
The Acarosporaceae are a family of fungi in the order Acarosporales. Members of this family have a widespread distribution, and are mostly lichenized with green algae. According to a 2021 estimate, the family contains 11 genera and about 260 species. The family is characterised by a hamathecium formed of paraphysoids.
The Baeomycetales are an order of mostly lichen-forming fungi in the subclass Ostropomycetidae, in the class Lecanoromycetes. It contains 8 families, 33 genera and about 170 species. As a result of molecular phylogenetics research published in the late 2010s, several orders were folded into the Baeomycetales, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of taxa.
Cetradonia is a lichen genus in the family Cladoniaceae. A monotypic genus, Cetradonia contains the single species Cetradonia linearis. The genus was circumscribed in 2002 by Jiang-Chun Wei and Teuvo Ahti. The genus was once placed in the family Cetradoniaceae until that family was subsumed into the Cladoniaceae in 2006.
Icmadophila is a genus of crustose lichen. The genus has a widespread distribution in the Northern Hemisphere and contains six species. The only species found in North America, Icmadophila ericetorum, has a mint green crustose thallus that is dotted with bright pink apothecial disks, and is sometimes colloquially referred to as "fairy puke". It aggressively grows over mosses on well-rotted wood and peat. It looks very distinctive, but may be confused with species of Dibaeis.
Pilophorus acicularis, commonly known as the nail lichen or the devil's matchstick lichen, is a species of matchstick lichen in the family Cladoniaceae.
Lichens are symbiotic organisms made up of multiple species: a fungus, one or more photobionts and sometimes a yeast. They are regularly grouped by their external appearance – a characteristic known as their growth form. This form, which is based on the appearance of vegetative part of the lichen, varies depending on the species and the environmental conditions it faces. Those who study lichens (lichenologists) have described a dozen of these forms: areolate, byssoid, calicioid, cladoniform, crustose, filamentous, foliose, fruticose, gelatinous, leprose, placoidioid and squamulose. Traditionally, crustose (flat), foliose (leafy) and fruticose (shrubby) are considered to be the three main forms. In addition to these more formalised, traditional growth types, there are a handful of informal types named for their resemblance to the lichens of specific genera. These include alectorioid, catapyrenioid, cetrarioid, hypogymnioid, parmelioid and usneoid.
Baeomyces is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Baeomycetaceae. Members of Baeomyces are commonly called cap lichens. The genus was circumscribed by German mycologist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1794. Although Persoon did not designate a type species in his original description of the genus, Frederick Clements and Cornelius Lott Shear assigned Baeomyces byssoides as the type in 1931.
Dibaeis baeomyces, commonly known as pink earth lichen, is a fruticose lichen belonging to the family Icmadophilaceae.
Xanthoparmelia lineola, commonly known as the tight rock-shield, is a foliose lichen species in the genus Xanthoparmelia. It is a common species with a temperate distribution. Found in North America and South Africa, it grows on rocks.
Cladonia sobolescens, commonly known as the peg lichen, is a species of fruticose lichen. It is found in temperate eastern North America and East Asia.
Calicium viride, commonly known as the green stubble lichen, is a species of pin lichen in the family Caliciaceae, and the type species of the genus Calicium. It is a common and widely distributed species in temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere and southern South America. The thallus of the lichen consists of a basal crust, and apothecia on a stalk. Diagnostic characteristics of Calicium viride are its brown excipulum, and its green, granular crust.
Peltigera venosa, commonly known as the fan lichen, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Peltigeraceae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work Species Plantarum as Lichen venosus. German botanist Georg Franz Hoffmann transferred it to the genus Peltigera in 1789. P. venosa can be found in temperate and boreal regions of North America, Europe, and Asia, while occasionally being found in drier climates such as mountainous Arizona.
Pulchrocladia retipora, commonly known as the coral lichen, is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Cladoniaceae. Found predominantly in Australasia, its habitats range from the Australian Capital Territory to New Zealand's North and South Islands, and even the Pacific region of New Caledonia, where it grows in coastal and alpine heathlands. The lichen features coral-like branches and subbranches with numerous intricate, netlike perforations. It is known by multiple names, with some sources referring to it by its synonym Cladia retipora, or the common name lace lichen.
Dibaeis yurii is a little-known species of terricolous (ground-dwelling) lichen in the family Icmadophilaceae. It is found in the Russian Far East and in South Korea.
Solorina crocea, commonly known as the orange chocolate chip lichen, is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling) and foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Peltigeraceae. The lichen, which was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, has an arctic–alpine and circumpolar distribution and occurs in Asia, Europe, North America, and New Zealand. It generally grows on the bare ground in sandy soils, often in moist soil near snow patches or seepage areas. Although several forms and varieties of the lichen have been proposed in its history, these are not considered to have any independent taxonomic significance.
Baeomyces heteromorphus is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling) lichen in the family Baeomycetaceae. It has an Australasian distribution. Characteristics of the lichen include its greenish-grey thallus, the pink to brownish discs of its apothecia, translucent spores lacking internal partitions (septa), and the presence of the secondary metabolites norstictic acid and connorstictic acid.
Endocena is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Icmadophilaceae. It has two species. Endocena is characterised by a thallus that can range from crustose to somewhat fruticose, with features such as hollow pustules, pseudopodetia, and granular phyllocladia. Apothecia, or sexual fruiting bodies, are rare and poorly developed. The three taxa within the genus have distinct distributional ranges, with Endocena informis var. informis being widely distributed in southern South America, while Endocena informis var. falklandica is common in the Falkland Islands, and Endocena buckii has a restricted range in Chilean Tierra del Fuego.
Puttea is a genus of lichen-forming fungi with uncertain familial placement in the order Lecanorales. The genus comprises four species. Finnish lichenologists Soili Stenroos and Seppo Huhtinen established the genus Puttea in 2009 for the lichen species formerly known as Lecidea margaritella, which has undergone various reclassifications. Molecular phylogenetics analyses have shown that Puttea margaritella does not align closely with genera like Fellhanera or Micarea, but its precise familial placement remains uncertain. Puttea is characterized by an indistinct, lichenized thallus composed of delicate fungal filaments and small algal cells. Its minute, round, whitish apothecia lack a distinct margin, and the asci, or spore-producing cells, are thick-walled, club-shaped, and contain eight spores, showing specific reactions with iodine-based stains. The type species of the genus, Puttea margaritella, typically inhabits boreal forests, growing on the liverwort species Ptilidium pulcherrimum and sometimes on decaying wood or bark. Initially thought to be confined to Europe, it has since been found in North America, particularly in Alaska and Québec, extending its known range. The species is parasitic, damaging its host, and is considered rare within its distribution.
