Peltigera canina

Peltigera canina
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Lecanoromycetes
Order:	Peltigerales
Family:	Peltigeraceae
Genus:	Peltigera
Species:	P. canina
Binomial name
Peltigera canina (L.) Willd. (1787)
Synonyms [2]
Lichen caninusL. (1753) Peltidea canina(L.) Ach. (1803) Dermatodea canina(L.) A.St.-Hil. (1805) Peltophora canina(L.) Clem. (1909)

Peltigera canina, commonly known as the dog lichen, is a widely distributed species of foliose lichen in the family Peltigeraceae. It was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work Species Plantarum . German botanist Carl Ludwig Willdenow transferred it to the genus Peltigera in 1787. ^[3] This species is currently undergoing research as it is likely multiple species under one united name.

Description

Peltigera canina has a brown to brownish-grey thallus when dry. The upper surface of the lobes, which generally measure 10–25 mm (0.4–1.0 in) across, have a fuzzy tomentum, especially near the margins. The lichen typically grows on soil, in woodlands, fields, and sandy areas ^[4] The cyanobiont Nostoc associates with Peltigera canina, and resembles the species N. sphaericum and N. punctiforme . ^[5]

References

1. NatureServe. "Peltigera canina". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
2. "Synonymy: Peltigera canina (L.) Willd". Species Fungorum . Retrieved 7 February 2021.
3. Willdenow, C.L. von (1787). Florae Berolinensis Prodromus (in Latin). p. 347.
4. Brodo, Irwin M.; Sharnoff, Sylvia Duran; Sharnoff, Stephen (2001). Lichens of North America. Yale University Press. pp. 506–507. ISBN   978-0300082494.
5. Bergman, Birgitta; Hällbom, Lars (1982). "Nostoc of Peltigera canina when lichenized and isolated". Canadian Journal of Botany. 60 (10): 2092–2098. Bibcode:1982CaJB...60.2092B. doi:10.1139/b82-256.