Chrysothrix candelaris, commonly known as the mustard powder lichen or gold dust lichen, 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.
Letharia vulpina, commonly known as the wolf lichen, is a fruticose lichenized species of fungus in the family Parmeliaceae. It is bright yellow-green, shrubby and highly branched, and grows on the bark of living and dead conifers in parts of western and continental Europe and the Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains of North America. This species is somewhat toxic to mammals due to the yellow pigment vulpinic acid, and has been used historically as a poison for wolves and foxes. It has also been used traditionally by many native North American ethnic groups as a pigment source for dyes and paints.
Vermilacinia, a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Ramalinaceae, is a yellow-green fruticose type of lichen with about 30 species that grow on rocks, trees, and soil within the fog zone along the Pacific Coast of North America and South America. The genus name refers to the thallus being divided into narrow worm-like (vermis) branches (lacinia);the latter part of the name (lacinia) generally applied in descriptions and taxonomic keys such as exemplified in a key to Sonoran Desert species of Ramalina.
Ramalina hyrcana is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. Found in the Hyrcanian forest area along the Caspian coast in Iran, it was described as new to science in 2011.
A fruticose lichen is a form of lichen fungi that is characterized by a coral-like shrubby or bushy growth structure. It is formed from a symbiotic relationship of a photobiont such as green algae or less commonly cyanobacteria and one, two or more mycobionts. Fruticose lichens are not a monophyletic and holophyletic lineage, but is a form encountered in many classes. Fruticose lichens have a complex vegetation structure, and are characterized by an ascending, bushy or pendulous appearance. As with other lichens, many fruticose lichens can endure high degrees of desiccation. They grow slowly and often occur in habitats such as on tree barks, on rock surfaces and on soils in the Arctic and mountain regions.
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.
Ramalina farinacea is an epiphytic bushy shaped (fruticose) lichen common to areas with Mediterranean, subtropical, or temperate climates. It is in the genus Ramalina of the family Ramalinaceae. The coexistence of two different species of the Trebouxia genus of green algae at the same time were found to be in each specimen collected in widely distributed populations. The algae thrive in different temperature and light environments. It is thought this demonstrates an ability of the lichen with two simultaneous green algae partners to proliferate in a wider range of habitats and geographic areas.
Niebla homalea is a species of fruticose lichen that grows on rocks in foggy areas along the Pacific Coast of North America, from Mendocino County, California south to Bahía de San Quintín on the main peninsula of Baja California, with an isolated occurrence further south on vertical rock faces above Punta Camachos, and other occurrences in the Channel Islands and on Guadalupe Island. The epithet homalea, given by Acharius, suggests it was in regard to the branches appearing flattened.
Vermilacinia cerebra is a fruticose lichen that grows on trees and shrubs in the fog regions along the Pacific Coast of North America from the Channel Islands and mainland California near Los Angeles to southern Baja California, also occurring in South America in the Antofagasta Province of northern Chile. The epithet is in reference to the apical swollen lobes that resemble the cerebrum of the brain.
Vermilacinia howei is a fruticose lichen that grows on trees and shrubs in the fog regions along the Pacific Coast of North America in the coastal scrub region of the Channel Islands of California, and around Bahía de San Quintín, Baja California and further south in the Vizcaíno Desert. The epithet is in honor of Reginald Heber Howe, Jr. for his contributions to lichenology, especially acknowledged for providing images of the type (biology) specimens in his revision of the genus Ramalina.
Vermilacinia leopardina is a fruticose lichen usually that grows abundantly on the branches of shrubs in the fog regions along the Pacific Coast of North America, in the Channel Islands and on the mainland of California from Santa Barbara County south to the Vizcaíno Peninsula of Baja California. The species is also reported to occur in Chile, based on a single specimen mounted on a large index card off to one corner with the type (biology) of Usnea tumidula in the center and bottom ; it is possible that the specimen of V. leopardina was from North America and placed on the card for the purpose of making a comparison to the type for Usnea tumidula, which was annotated Ramalina ceruchis var. gracilior Muell.Arg., a name of uncertain status. The epithet, leopardina, is in reference to the black transverse bands and irregularly shaped black spots commonly seen on the thallus branches that obviously imply a similarity to the leopard animal, while also making comparative distinctions to other black banded species: V. tigrina and V. zebrina, obviously to a tiger and zebra, and to V. leonis, obviously a lion, which has no black stripes.
Niebla testudinaria is a fruticose lichen that grows on rocks along the foggy Pacific Coast of North America, from Marin County, California to just south of Tijuana in Baja California, in the Channel Islands in California, and Isla San Martín and Guadalupe Island in Baja California The epithet, testudinaria given by William Nylander in 1870, is probably in reference to the dilated branch with a reticulated surface, similar to a tortoise shell.
Usnea articulata, commonly known as the string-of-sausage lichen, is a pale greenish-grey, densely branched lichen with a prostrate or pendant growth form. It grows on bark, on branches and twigs, and is often unattached to a branch and merely draped over it. It grows up to 100 cm (40 in) in length.
Ramalina americana, commonly known as the sinewed ramalina, is a pale green fruticose lichen that is found across the Northern US Midwest, extending into Southern Canada and the Eastern Seaboard. It is characterized morphologically by the presence of pseudocyphellae, straight spores, and its unique chemical diversity.
Ramalina geniculatella is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), fruticose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is found in the remote tropical island of Saint Helena, where it grows on boulders and cliffs. It was formally described as a new species in 2008 by Dutch lichenologist André Aptroot. The type specimen was collected by the author from Prosperous Bay Plain at an elevation of 330 m (1,080 ft); there, it was found growing on basalt. The initially shrub-like, fruticose thallus of the lichen later becomes pendant, reaching lengths of up to 20 cm (8 in), although typically it is smaller, about 7 cm (2.8 in). The branches of the thallus are about 0.5–1.2 mm wide and about 0.2–0.5 mm thick; they are geniculate below the apothecia. The species epithet refers to this characteristic feature. Although the branches are greenish-grey, they are covered with whitish pseudocyphellae, which gives the thallus an overall whitish appearance. Thin-layer chromatography shows that the species contains usnic acid, and sometimes boninic acid and protocetraric acids. The photobiont partner is dispersed in irregular groups throughout the medulla.
Biatora pontica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), leprose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is a widely distributed species, having been recorded in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America.
Hypogymnia capitata is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in high-elevation conifer forests in Sichuan Province, China, it was described as a new species in 2014. The lichen is characterized by its capitate terminal soralia, brownish lobes with white cavities, and the presence of olivetoric acid. This lichen is distinguished from similar species by its specific morphological, chemical, and habitat characteristics.
Ramalina polyforma is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), fruticose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. This greenish-grey shrubby lichen, endemic to the Galápagos Islands, was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Dutch lichenologist André Aptroot.
Niorma hosseusiana is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), fruticose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in South America.
