''Cladonia alpina'' (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: ''Gaffelbägarlav'') is a species of fruticose lichen that is in the family Cladoniaceae. It has been found in Japan, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

Molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis indicates that ''Cladonia alpina'' is a member of the Erythrocarpae: Subglaucescentes

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

, a group of species including '' C. floerkeana'', '' C. macilenta'' and '' C. polydactyla''. Although the presence of porphyrilic acid has been claimed to be diagnostic for this species, some non-European collections lack this

substance Substance may refer to: * Matter, anything that has mass and takes up space Chemistry * Chemical substance, a material with a definite chemical composition * Drug substance ** Substance abuse, drug-related healthcare and social policy diagnosis ...

Description

''Cladonia alpina'' is similar to ''Cladonia macilenta'' in appearance, but has taller podetia measuring up to in height, usually bifurcate or sparingly dichotomously branched in the upper part. Podetia are partially or sorediate throughout, or more or less corticate with soredia only towards and at the tips; the soredia are to somewhat granular. Squamules at the base of the podetia are 1–2 mm long, and are scalloped or incised. Apothecia are red, and quite rare. Pycnidia occur on the tip of the podetia, with red pycnidial jelly. The expected results of standard chemical spot tests on the thallus are C−, K−, KC−, Pd− (or rarely Pd+ yellow), and UV−. Lichens products found in this species include

barbatic acid Barbatic acid is an organic compound that is made by some lichens. It is in the structural class known as depsides. It is particularly common in the genera ''Usnea'' (the beard lichens) and ''Cladonia''. History The compound was first isolated ...

, porphyrilic acid, and

thamnolic acid Thamnolic acid is a β-orcinol depside with the molecular formula C19H16O11. Thamnolic acid was first isolated from the lichen '' Thamnolia vermicularis'', but it also occur in ''Cladonia ''Cladonia'' is a genus of moss-like lichens in the fa ...

References

alpina Lichens described in 1939 Lichens of Japan Lichens of Northern Europe Taxa named by Yasuhiko Asahina Lichen species {{Lecanorales-stub