| Umbilicaria americana | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Umbilicaria americana growing on rock faces | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Umbilicariales |
| Family: | Umbilicariaceae |
| Genus: | Umbilicaria |
| Species: | U. americana |
| Binomial name | |
| Umbilicaria americana Poelt & T.H.Nash (1993) | |
Umbilicaria americana, commonly known as frosted rock tripe, is a foliose lichen of rock faces.
Umbilicaria americana has been described as looking like "grayish-white potato chips." [1] The upper surface is gray with the appearance of white dusting. The lower surface is black. The lobes are 2 to 7 cm in diameter. [2]
A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship. 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.
In archaeology, palaeontology, and geomorphology, lichenometry is a geomorphic method of geochronologic dating that uses lichen growth to determine the age of exposed rock, based on a presumed specific rate of increase in radial size over time. Measuring the diameter of the largest lichen of a species on a rock surface can therefore be used to determine the length of time the rock has been exposed. Lichen can be preserved on old rock faces for up to 10,000 years, providing the maximum age limit of the technique, though it is most accurate when applied to surfaces that have been exposed for less than 1,000 years. Lichenometry is especially useful for dating surfaces less than 500 years old, as radiocarbon dating techniques are less accurate over this period. The lichens most commonly used for lichenometry are those of the genera Rhizocarpon and Xanthoria. The measured growth rates of R. geographicum tends to fall within the range of 0.9–0.3 millimeter per year, depending on several factors, including the size of the lichen patch.
The Slate Islands are a small archipelago in Lake Superior, Ontario, Canada, about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of the town of Terrace Bay. The island group, consisting of 15 islands in total, was created by a meteorite impact which formed a crater about 32 km (20 mi) wide. In 1985, the Ontario government established the Slate Islands as a natural environment provincial park. The islands are notable for having Ontario's largest herd of boreal woodland caribou.
Rock tripe is the common name for various lichens of the genus Umbilicaria that grow on rocks. They are widely distributed, including on bare rock in Antarctica, and throughout northern parts of North America such as New England and the Rocky Mountains. They are edible when properly prepared; soaking extensively and boiling with changes of water removes the bitterness and purgative properties. They have been used as a famine food in extreme cases when other food sources were unavailable, as by early American northern explorers.
Umbilicaria esculenta is a lichen of the genus Umbilicaria that grows on rocks, also known as rock tripe. It can be found in East Asia including in China, Japan, and Korea. It is edible when properly prepared and has been used as a food source and medicine. It is called iwatake in Japanese and seogi or seogi beoseot in Korean. The species name is based on the earlier basionym Gyrophora esculenta.
Umbilicaria vellea is a species of lichen in the genus Umbilicaria. It is sometimes called navel lichen. It is found in North America and Europe in alpine and arctic habitats. It is similar to the species Umbilicaria americana, which has a more southern distribution.
Umbilicaria mammulata, or smooth rock tripe, is a foliose lichen found on boulders and rock walls.
Edible lichens are lichens that have a cultural history of use as a food. Although almost all lichen are edible, not all have a cultural history of usage as an edible lichen. Often lichens are merely famine foods eaten in times of dire needs, but in some cultures lichens are a staple food or even a delicacy.
Lichens of the Sierra Nevada have been little studied. A lichen is a composite organism consisting of a fungus and a photosynthetic partner growing together in a symbiotic relationship.
Physcia caesia, known colloquially as blue-gray rosette lichen and powder-back lichen, is a species of foliose lichenized fungus. First described by Georg Franz Hoffmann in 1784, it is common across much of Europe, North America and New Zealand, and more patchily distributed in South America, Asia, Australia and Antarctica. There are 2 subspecies: P. c. caesia and P. c. ventosa, as well as a number of distinct forms and varieties. Molecular studies suggest that the species as currently defined may be polyphyletic. It is typically pale gray shading to darker gray in the center, and grows in a small rosette, usually some 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) across at maturity. It only rarely has apothecia, instead reproducing most often vegetatively via soredia, which are piled in round blue-gray mounds across the thallus's upper surface. It grows most often on rock—principally calcareous, but also basaltic and siliceous—and also occurs on bone, bark and soil. It is nitrophilic and is particularly common on substrates where birds perch.
Lecanoric acid is a chemical produced by several species of lichen. Lecanoric acid is classified as a polyphenol and a didepside and it functions as an antioxidant. The acid is named after the lichen Lecanora. The acid has also been isolated from Usnea subvacata, Parmotrema stuppuem, Parmotrema tinctorum,Parmotrema grayana, Xanthoparmelia arida and Xanthoparmelia lecanorica. A related compound, 5-chlorolecanoric acid, is found in some species of Punctelia.
The Ecological regions of Quebec are regions with specific types of vegetation and climates as defined by the Quebec Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks. Given the size of this huge province, there is wide variation from the temperate deciduous forests of the southwest to the arctic tundra of the extreme north.
Umbilicaria polyphylla, commonly known as petaled rock tripe, is a widely distributed species of saxicolous lichen in the family Umbilicariaceae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work Species Plantarum as Lichen polyphyllus. German botanist Johann Christian Gottlob Baumgarten transferred it to the genus Umbilicaria in 1790. The lichen has a dark brown to black thallus that measures 2–6 cm (0.8–2.4 in) in diameter. The upper surface is smooth, while the lower surface is sooty black. It grows on exposed rocks, typically in arctic-alpine habitats.
Umbilicaria deusta, commonly known as peppered rock tripe, is a widely distributed species of saxicolous lichen in the family Umbilicariaceae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work Species Plantarum as Lichen polyphyllus. German botanist Johann Christian Gottlob Baumgarten transferred it to the genus Umbilicaria in 1790. The lichen has a dark brown to nearly black thallus that typically measures 1–5 cm (0.4–2.0 in) in diameter. The upper surface is covered with tiny black dots that are granular isidia; the lower surface is the same colour as the upper surface, and is either smooth or covereds with dimples. It grows on exposed boulders and rocky outcrops.
Umbilicaria hyperborea, commonly known as blistered rock tripe, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Umbilicariaceae. It is widely distributed in arctic and alpine regions.
Umbilicaria virginis, commonly known as the blushing rock tripe, is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) umbilicate lichen in the family Umbilicariaceae. It occurs in polar and alpine regions.
Umbilicaria maculata is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) umbilicate lichen in the family Umbilicariaceae. It is found in high-altitude alpine locations in Poland and France.
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