The Cladoniaceae are a family of lichenized fungi in the order Lecanorales. It is one of the largest families of lichen-forming fungi, with about 560 species distributed amongst 17 genera. The reindeer moss and cup lichens (Cladonia) belong to this family. The latter genus, which comprises about 500 species, forms a major part of the diet of large mammals in taiga and tundra ecosystems. Many Cladoniaceae lichens grow on soil, but other can use decaying wood, tree trunks, and, in a few instances, rocks as their substrate. They grow in places with high humidity, and cannot tolerate aridity.
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.
Rusavskia elegans, commonly known as the elegant sunburst lichen, is a lichenized species of fungus in the genus Rusavskia, family Teloschistaceae. Recognized by its bright orange or red pigmentation, this species grows on rocks, often near bird or rodent perches. It has a circumpolar and alpine distribution. It was one of the first lichens to be used for the rock-face dating method known as lichenometry.
Cladonia furcata or the many-forked cup lichen is a species of cup lichen in the family Cladoniaceae. It has an intermediate to tolerant air pollution sensitivity. Extracts of this species have been shown to kill leukemia cells in vitro, and may have possible value in the treatment of cancer.
Vulpicida is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Parmeliaceae. Circumscribed in 1993 to contain species formerly placed in Cetraria, the genus is widespread in Arctic to northern temperate regions, and contains six species. The genus is characterized by the presence of the secondary metabolites pulvinic acid and vulpinic acid, compounds that when combined with usnic acid, give the species their characteristic yellow and green colors.
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.
Chrysothrix is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Chrysothricaceae. They are commonly called gold dust lichens or sulfur dust lichens, because they are bright yellow to greenish-yellow, sometimes flecked with orange, and composed entirely of powdery soredia. Apothecia are never present in North American specimens.
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.
Physcia caesia, known colloquially as blue-gray rosette lichen and powder-back lichen, is a species of foliose lichenized fungus. First described by Georg Franz Hoffmann in 1784, it is common across much of Europe, North America and New Zealand, and more patchily distributed in South America, Asia, Australia and Antarctica. There are 2 subspecies: P. c. caesia and P. c. ventosa, as well as a number of distinct forms and varieties. Molecular studies suggest that the species as currently defined may be polyphyletic. It is typically pale gray shading to darker gray in the center, and grows in a small rosette, usually some 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) across at maturity. It only rarely has apothecia, instead reproducing most often vegetatively via soredia, which are piled in round blue-gray mounds across the thallus's upper surface. It grows most often on rock—principally calcareous, but also basaltic and siliceous—and also occurs on bone, bark and soil. It is nitrophilic and is particularly common on substrates where birds perch.
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.
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.
Cladonia coccifera or madame's cup lichen is a species of fruticose, cup lichen in the family Cladoniaceae. It was first described by Swedish lichenologist Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work Species Plantarum. German botanist Carl Ludwig Willdenow transferred it to the genus Cladonia in 1787. The lichen has apothecia and bright red pycnidia atop of yellowish to grey-green podetia that are 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) high. The base of the thallus comprises rounded squamules (scales) with a yellow to orange-brown undersurface. It typically occurs on acidic peaty and sandy soils.
Pulchrocladia retipora, most commonly known as the coral lichen, is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Cladoniaceae. It occurs in Australasia and New Caledonia where it grows in coastal and alpine heathlands. The lichen features coral-like branches and subbranches with numerous 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.
