A saxicolous lichen is a lichen that grows on rock. [1] [2] The prefix "sax" from the Latin saxum means "rock" or "stone". [3]
Saxicolous lichens exhibit very slow growth rates. They may develop on rock substrates for long periods of time, given the absence of external disturbances. [4] The importance of the mineral composition of the rock substrate, as well as the elemental geochemistry is also important to the distribution of saxicolous lichens, but the relationship between the substrate influence on lichens, either chemical or textural, is still obscure. [5]
Communities of saxicolous lichens are often species-rich in terms of number. [6]
A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship. Lichens are important actors in nutrient cycling and act as producers which many higher trophic feeders feed on, such as reindeer, gastropods, nematodes, mites, and springtails. Lichens have properties different from those of their component organisms. They come in many colors, sizes, and forms and are sometimes plant-like, but are not plants. They may have tiny, leafless branches (fruticose); flat leaf-like structures (foliose); grow crust-like, adhering tightly to a surface (substrate) like a thick coat of paint (crustose); have a powder-like appearance (leprose); or other growth forms.
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.
Rhizocarpon is a genus of crustose, saxicolous, lecideoid lichens in the family Rhizocarpaceae. The genus is common in arctic-alpine environments, but also occurs throughout temperate, subtropical, and even tropical regions. They are commonly known as map lichens because of the prothallus forming border-like bands between colonies in some species, like the common map lichen.
Menegazzia terebrata is a species of foliose lichen found scattered across many continents, including North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
André Aptroot is a Dutch mycologist and lichenologist.
A lignocolous lichen is a lichen that grows on wood that has the bark stripped from it. This is to be compared to a corticolous lichen that grows on bark, and saxicolous lichens that grow on rock.
A corticolous lichen is a lichen that grows on bark. This is contrasted with lignicolous lichen, which grows on wood that has had the bark stripped from it, and saxicolous lichen, which grows on rock.
Haematomma ochroleucum, also known as yellow bloodstain lichen, is a species of crustose lichenized fungus. First described in 1771 by Noël Martin Joseph de Necker, it has no subspecies, but two named varieties: H. o. var. ochroleucum and H. o. var. porphyrium.
John Walter Thomson Jr. (1913–2009) was a Scottish-born American botanist and lichenologist, sometimes referred to as the "Dean of North American Lichens".
Peter Wilfred James (1930–2014) was an English botanist and lichenologist. He was a pioneer in the study of lichens as environmental indicators, especially of atmospheric pollution.
Gintaras Kantvilas is an Australian lichenologist, who earned his Ph.D in 1985 from the University of Tasmania with a thesis entitled Studies on Tasmanian rainforest lichens. He has authored over 432 species names, and 167 genera in the field of mycology.
John Alan (Jack) Elix emeritus professor in chemistry at the Australian National University, is an organic chemist who has contributed in many fields: lichenology, lichen chemotaxonomy, plant physiology and biodiversity and natural product chemistry. He has authored 2282 species names, and 67 genera in the field of mycology.
Brian John Coppins is a botanist and lichenologist, considered a world authority on crustose lichens and a leading expert on the genus Micarea.
Fuscidea appalachensis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) in the family Fuscideaceae. Found in North America, it was formally described as a new species in 2008 by lichenologist Alan Fryday. The type specimen was collected from top of Tabor Gully in Baxter State Park (Maine) at an elevation of 1,415 m (4,642 ft). Here it was found growing on damp rocks on the side of the gully. The pale grey crustose thalli of Fuscidea appalachensis are 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) in diameter, although neighbouring lichens may coalesce to form larger thalli. The lichen contains divaricatic acid, a secondary compound that can be detected using thin-layer chromatography. The specific epithet alludes to the range of the lichen—the Appalachian Mountains in eastern North America, ranging from New Brunswick to Tennessee at the southern end.
Variospora cancarixiticola is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in southeastern Spain, where it grows on cancarixite, a volcanic rock known only to occur in that country.
Verrucaria rosula is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in freshwater habitats in Europe, it was formally described as a new species in 2013 by lichenologist Alan Orange. The type specimen was collected by the author from Cwm Dringarth, Brecon Beacons (Brecknockshire), where it was found growing on an unshaded rock in a flush. The lichen has a grey-green to brown thallus that is 40–200 μm thick. New thallus growth is initiated by tiny, roughly spherical or polyhedral granules that increase in size to eventually form somewhat circular, rosette-like patches; the species epithet rosula refers to this type of growth. Verrucaria rosula has been recorded in Wales, southwest England, Scotland, and France, where it occurs on damp siliceous rocks and stones near streams or on flushed ground. Lichens that associate with V. rosula include Ionaspis lacustris, Thelidium pluvium, Verrucaria cernaensis, V. hydrophila, V. sublobulata and V. margacea.
Verrucaria placida is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in freshwater habitats in Europe, it was formally described as a new species in 2013 by lichenologist Alan Orange. The type specimen was collected by the author south of the Moelvi river, where it was found in woodland, growing on a stone in a shaded stream. The species epithet placida, derived from the Latin word for "quiet" or "peaceful", refers to the "smooth, unbroken thallus and the characteristic but unstriking appearance of this lichen". Verrucaria placida has been recorded in Norway, southern Germany, and Wales, where it occurs in small streams and grows on shaded siliceous rocks and stones.
Verrucaria hydrophila is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in freshwater habitats in Europe, it was formally described as a new species in 2013 by lichenologist Alan Orange. The type specimen was collected by the author from Melindwr, Coed y Fron Wyllt, where it was found in a woodland growing on a shaded stone in a stream. The lichen has a thin, smooth, grey-green to brownish thallus that is somewhat translucent when wet. It is widespread in Europe and the British Isles, where it grows on rocks and stones in streams and seepages; the species epithet refers to its semi-aquatic habitat.
Alexandra "Sandy" M. Coppins is a Scottish lichenologist. She was president of the British Lichen Society from 2002 to 2004.
Robert Lücking is a German lichenologist. He earned his master's and PhD from the University of Ulm, focusing on the taxonomy, ecology, and biodiversity of foliicolous lichens. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Mason E. Hale Award for his doctoral thesis, the Augustin Pyramus de Candolle prize for his monograph, and the Tuckerman Award twice for his publications in The Bryologist. Since 2015, he has been serving as the curator of lichens, fungi, and bryophytes at the Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum, and several lichen species and a genus have been named in his honour.
saxicolous. Living or growing among rocks. [< L. saxum stone + -cole, colous.]