Chrysothrix candelaris

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Chrysothrix candelaris
Gold Dust Lichen (3816260916).jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Arthoniomycetes
Order: Arthoniales
Family: Chrysotrichaceae
Genus: Chrysothrix
Species:
C. candelaris
Binomial name
Chrysothrix candelaris
(L.) J.R.Laundon (1981)
Synonyms
  • Byssus candelarisL. (1753)
  • Lichen flavus Schreb. (1771)
  • Lepraria flava(Schreb.) Ach. (1798)
  • Lepraria candelaria(L.) Fr. (1824)
  • Crocynia flava(Schreb.) Hue (1924)

Chrysothrix candelaris, commonly known as the mustard powder lichen [1] or gold dust lichen, [2] is a species of leprose (powdery) lichen in the family Chrysothricaceae. It typically grows on tree bark, although it has also been recorded growing on rock. It does not show ascocarps or other reproductive structures, belonging to the group commonly known as the 'Fungi or lichens imperfecti' in the UK. [3] [4]

Contents

Distribution

This lichen is widespread and common in the United Kingdom, where it occurs on the bark of deciduous trees, especially rugged old specimens, such as sycamore, alder, oak, willow, beech, and pine species, [5] normally in dry shaded parts. and occasionally on the sheltered faces of siliceous rocks. [6] It is found in North America, Scotland, [6] Hungary, [7] Iran, [8] Latvia [9] and has been recorded in the Cape Verde Islands. [10]

Description

As suggested by its name, C. candelaris is bright yellow, orange-yellow, or greenish-yellow. It has a powdery (leprose) appearance, a superficial thallus and lacks apothecia and isidia. [11] Because its thallus is made entirely of powdery soredia that covers the substrate like a crust, Chrysothrix candelaris is a leprose lichen. [2]

Laundon described three chemotypes of this species: one with the chemical cyclin, one with pinatric acid, and a third with both of these compounds. [12]

Life cycle

Lacking apothecia, soredia and isidia, C. candelaris is not able to reproduce by spores, but spreads by its thallus becoming distributed by the wind, the feet of animals, etc. to suitable habitats. [11]

Miscellaneous

This lichen can be used as an indicator to monitor air quality.

Related Research Articles

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<i>Oxneria fallax</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Psilolechia lucida</i> Species of lichen

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<i>Pyxine sorediata</i> Species of lichen in the family Caliciaceae

Pyxine sorediata, commonly known as mustard lichen, is a widely distributed species of foliose lichen in the family Caliciaceae. It has a subtropical to warm temperate distribution, and grows on bark, rocks, and moss as substrates. Pyxine sorediata has been reported from regions of North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia.

<i>Melanohalea subolivacea</i> Species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae

Melanohalea subolivacea, commonly known as the brown-eyed camouflage lichen, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae.

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<i>Lepraria incana</i> Species of lichen

Lepraria incana is a species of dust lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. First described scientifically by Johann Jacob Dillenius in 1741, and then formally by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, it is the type species of the genus Lepraria. The thallus of this species is green to greyish-green, and powdery – as if made of tiny granules. These granules are soredia, which are asexual reproductive structures. Like most members of genus Lepraria, the lichen has few distinguishing features, lacking both a medulla and sexual reproductive structures (apothecia). Chemically, the lichen is characterised by the presence of the secondary chemicals known as divaricatic acid and zeorin.

<i>Hypogymnia flavida</i> Species of lichen

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<i>Chrysothrix flavovirens</i> Species of lichen

Chrysothrix flavovirens is a species of crustose and corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Chrysotrichaceae. It was formally described as a new species in 1994 by Tor Tønsberg as the sorediate counterpart of the common and widespread Chrysothrix candelaris. The type specimen was collected from Kirkeøy, Norway, where it was found growing on Picea abies. It has a pale greenish-yellow thallus that contains rhizocarpic acid. The lichen is widespread in Europe, and has also been recorded from Japan and North America. In the Atlantic and Mediterranean biogeographic regions of Portugal, it prefers to grow on the acidic bark of coastal conifer trees.

Chrysothrix bergeri is a species of crustose lichen in the family Chrysotrichaceae. It is found in the southeastern United States and the Caribbean, where it grows as a bright yellow, powdery crust on the bark and wood of mostly hardwoods.

Bacidina flavoleprosa is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), leprose (powdery) lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is found in a single locality in the Czech Republic.

Inoderma sorediatum is a species of crustose lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. It is only known to occur on the bark of trees in Poland's Białowieża National Park. It is differentiated from other species in genus Inoderma by the form of its thallus, which is entirely made of powdery, granular soredia, as well as by the presence of a unique combination of lichen products.

References

  1. Dobson, Frank S. Common British Lichens. Pub. Norwich:Jarrold Colour Publication. p. 14.
  2. 1 2 Brodo, Irwin M.; Sharnoff, Sylvia Duran; Sharnoff, Stephen (2001). Lichens of North America. Yale University Press. p. 223. ISBN   978-0300082494.
  3. Lichenes Imperfectae
  4. Alvin, Kenneth L. (1977), The Observer's Book of Lichens. London : Frederick Warne. ISBN   0-7232-1566-9. p. 182.
  5. Lichenology
  6. 1 2 Alan Silverside's lichens
  7. "Hungarian lichens". Archived from the original on 2007-06-13. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  8. Seaward MRD, Sipman HJM, Schultz M, Maassoumi AA, Anbaran MHM, Sohrabi M. (2004). A preliminary lichen checklist for Iran. Willdenowia34(2): 543–576.
  9. Latvia lichen records
  10. "Cape Verde Islands check list of lichens". Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  11. 1 2 Lichens Archived 2008-08-20 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Laundon, J.R. (1981). "The species of Chrysothrix". The Lichenologist. 13 (2): 101–121. doi:10.1017/s0024282981000169.