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.
Physcia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Physciaceae. The widely distributed genus contains about 80 species. The genus is cosmopolitan, and has been extensively studied in various regions in the past several decades, with significant biodiversity in South America identified as a central diversity hotspot. Physcia species are foliose, lobate lichens that grow with a loose to close appressed habit. Their upper surface is typically whitish, pale greenish, green-grey, or dark grey in colour. The thallus colour remains relatively unchanged when moistened. Physcia lichens typically grow on bark, on wood, or rock, although they have occasionally been recorded dwelling on man-made structures. They thrive in nutrient-rich environments and are expanding rapidly in urban areas of the United Kingdom previously affected by SO2 pollution.
Melanohalea is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It contains 30 mostly Northern Hemisphere species that grow on bark or on wood. The genus is characterised by the presence of pseudocyphellae, usually on warts or on the tips of isidia, a non-pored epicortex and a medulla containing depsidones or lacking secondary metabolites. Melanohalea was circumscribed in 2004 as a segregate of the morphologically similar genus Melanelia, which was created in 1978 for certain brown Parmelia species. The methods used to estimate the evolutionary history of Melanohalea suggest that its diversification primarily occurred during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs.
Teuvoa is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Megasporaceae. It was first classified by lichenologists Mohammad Sohrabi and Steven Leavitt in 2013, with Teuvoa uxoris asigned as the type species. This genus was delineated from the larger genus, Aspicilia, following a molecular phylogenetic analysis which revealed that the Aspicilia uxoris species group constituted a distinct lineage in the Megasporaceae. Initially containing three species, two additional species native to China were added in 2018. Teuvoa is characterised by its small ascospores and conidia, and the absence of secondary metabolites.
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.
Acarospora bullata, commonly known as cracked lichen, is a species of lichen in the Acarosporaceae family. The British Lichen Society wrote in 2010 that Acarospora bullata, when seen in North America, has been described as conspecific to Acarospora rugulosa. This species is also known to be conspecific with Acarospora subcastenae and Acarospora mendozana.
Parmelia barrenoae is a species of foliose lichen in the large family Parmeliaceae. It was formally described as a new species in 2005. Before this, it was lumped together as one of several lichens in the Parmelia sulcata group—a species complex of genetically distinct lookalikes. Parmelia barrenoae is widely distributed, occurring in Europe, western North America, Africa, and Asia.
Lendemeriella aureopruinosa is a species of crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in the Russian Far East, it was formally described as a new species in 2021 by Ivan Frolov, Jan Vondrák, Ulf Arup, Liudmila Konoreva, and Sergey Chesnokov, Lidia Yakovchenko, and Evgeny Davydov. The type specimen was collected on the banks of River Bes-Yuryakh ; here it was found growing on siliceous outcrops in a forest comprising largely birch, alder, and larch trees. The thallus of the lichen ranges in form from an inconspicuous grey film to a more well-developed crust or areoles. Its apothecia measure 0.3–0.6 mm in diameter and have a dark-orange to brick-red coloured disc. Secondary chemicals detected in the lichen include parietin, parietinic acid, emodin, teloschistin, and fallacinal. The specific epithet aureopruinosa refers to the bright gold-coloured pruina that is found on young apothecia.
Umbilicaria maculata is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) umbilicate lichen in the family Umbilicariaceae. It is found in high-elevation alpine locations in Poland and France.
Lecidella mandshurica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Lecanoraceae. It is found in the Russian Far East, South Korea, and China.
Usnea sphacelata is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), fruticose lichen in the large family Parmeliaceae. It is found in both polar regions of Earth, as well as in southern and northern South America and in New Zealand.
Schaereria bullata is a species of lichen in the family Schaereriaceae. It is found in the alpine regions of Tasmania, Australia. This lichen species is characterized by its dark brown to grey-brown thallus, which forms irregular patches over soil or bryophytes, and consists of granules that coalesce to create convex to bullate squamules. The lichen also features distinctive apothecia, which are roundish and typically superficial, and spherical spores.
Caloplaca fluviatilis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in the Republic of Tyva in Siberia.
Peltigera castanea is a species of terricolous and muscicolous, foliose lichen in the family Peltigeraceae. Described as a new species in 2003, it is part of the taxonomically challenging species complex centred around Peltigera didactyla. Recognised based on phylogenetic studies that highlighted its unique genetic markers, P. castanea is distinguished by its dark, chestnut-coloured upper surface, which inspired its vernacular name, chestnut pelt lichen. Its known distribution includes North America, Asia, Europe (Estonia), Greenland, and the Antarctic. The conservation status of Peltigera castanea varies regionally, from being critically imperiled in British Columbia and Yukon to critically endangered in Estonia due to significant habitat degradation and restricted population size.
Umbilicaria torrefacta is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Umbilicariaceae. It is an arctic-alpine species with a circumpolar distribution and is widely distributed within the Holarctic realm, specifically within the Palearctic and Neoarctic biogeographical regions. Characteristic features of Umbilicaria torrefacta include the lace-like fringe in its lobes and the plates on the underside of the thallus. One common name, punctured rock-tripe, refers to the distinctive sieve-like perforations on the thallus margins.
Umbilicaria angulata, commonly known as the asterisk rocktripe, is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Umbilicariaceae. It is found in northwestern North America and east Eurasia, where it grows on acidic rock.
Melanelixia albertana is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. First described in 1969 from collections made in Alberta, Canada, it has undergone two taxonomic reclassifications before ultimately being placed in the genus Melanelixia in 2004. The species is characterised by the soralia on the margins of its lobes, a feature that is rare in brown parmelioid lichens. This feature is reflected in its common name, powder-rimmed camouflage lichen. Melanelixia albertana has an unusual Asian-North American disjunct distribution. The widespread presence of Melanelixia albertana across different regions is attributed to the similar climatic and vegetative conditions found in the northern parts of the interior prairies in North America, as well as in the forest steppe and ultracontinental taiga forests of northern Mongolia, Transbaikal, and Yakutia. It occurs in river valley and ravine systems, as well as aspen parkland.
Umbilicaria semitensis, commonly known as Yosemite rock tripe, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Umbilicariaceae. It occurs in the western regions of northern North America, from southern California to southern Oregon.
Umbilicaria isidiosa is a species of foliose lichen belonging to the family Umbilicariaceae. It is endemic to Bolivia, where it occurs in high-altitude regions of the Bolivian Andes. It is distinguished by its thallus, which has an upper surface ranging from ashy brown to mouse grey, featuring a frosty texture that varies from smooth to slightly rough. This surface is adorned with numerous isidia, ranging from spherical to richly branched, primarily concentrated along the margins. The lower surface is dark, transitioning from smooth to rough in texture, and sparsely covered with dark rhizines.
Umbilicaria nodulospora is a species of foliose lichen in the family Umbilicariaceae, discovered on steep rock faces of old lava flows in California and Oregon, USA. This species is distinguished by the unique shape of its ascospores and its DNA sequence, which does not closely relate to any known species within its family.
