Cladonia coccifera

Cladonia coccifera
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Lecanoromycetes
Order:	Lecanorales
Family:	Cladoniaceae
Genus:	Cladonia
Species:	C. coccifera
Binomial name
Cladonia coccifera (L.) Willd. (1787)
Synonyms [2]
Lichen cocciferusL. (1753) Lichen pyxidatus var. cocciferus(L.) Weiss (1770) Scyphophorus cocciferus(L.) Gray (1821) Cladonia cornucopioides var. coccifera(L.) Körb. (1854) Cladonia coccifera var. asotea(Ach.) Grognot (1863) Cladonia coccifera f. asotea(Ach.) Vain. (1887)

Cladonia coccifera or madame's cup lichen ^[3] 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 . ^[4] German botanist Carl Ludwig Willdenow transferred it to the genus Cladonia in 1787. ^[5] 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. ^[6]

The lichen has a circumpolar distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, which extends south to the Himalayas. ^[7]

See also

• List of Cladonia species

References

1. NatureServe. "Cladonia coccifera". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
2. "Synonymy: Cladonia coccifera (L.) Willd., Fl. berol. prodr.: 361 (1787)". Species Fungorum . Retrieved 24 March 2021.
3. "Standardized Common Names for Wild Species in Canada". National General Status Working Group. 2020.
4. Linnaeus, Carl (1753). Species plantarum (in Latin). Vol. 2. Stockholm: Impensis Laurentii Salvii. p. 1151.
5. Willdenow, C.L. von (1787). Florae Berolinensis Prodromus (in Latin). Berlin: Wilhelm Vieweg. p. 361.
6. Whelan, Paul (2011). Lichens of Ireland – an illustrated introduction to over 250 species. Cork: Collins Press. p. 71. ISBN   978-1-84889-137-1.
7. Stenroos, Soili (1989). "Taxonomy of the Cladonia coccifera group. 1". Annales Botanici Fennici. 26: 157–168.