''Cladonia lutescens'' is a species of
fruticose lichen in the family
Cladoniaceae.
It occurs in high-altitude conditions of the
Himalayas.
Taxonomy
First
described in 2007 by lichenologists
Teuvo Ahti
Teuvo ("Ted") Tapio Ahti (born 1934) is a Finnish botanist and lichenologist. He has had a long career at the University of Helsinki that started in 1963, and then following his retirement in 1997, at the Botanical Museum of the Finnish Museum ...
,
, and
Sanjeeva Nayaka
Sanjeeva Nayaka (Hindi: संजीव नायक; Kannada: ಸಂಜೀವ ನಾಯಕ) is an Indian lichenologist. He is Senior Principal Scientist at CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (CSIR-NBRI), Lucknow. He is in charge of th ...
, ''Cladonia lutescens'' derives its name from the
Latin ''lutescens'', reflecting the unique yellowish tinge of its
thallus, or body. The
holotype, the reference specimen for this species, was discovered in Chitkul forest area, a high-altitude region in
Himachal Pradesh, India. The species falls within the traditional
section Cocciferae of genus ''
Cladonia'', which includes several
ochraceous-fruited members.
Description
One of the hallmarks of ''Cladonia lutescens'' is its , which is inconspicuous yet detailed. The , tiny scale-like structures, range from 0.3 to 1.5 mm wide. These gradually turn from a cream to a yellowish-grey hue as they age, developing granular
soredia, or vegetative reproductive structures, along the way. The
podetia, the lichen's stalk-like structures, are slender with a cream yellow to yellow colour. These structures, measuring from 0.35 to 1.5 cm tall, rarely branch out but rather ascend in a taper towards the top. They may also bear minuscule near the base. The
soredia, measuring between 20 and 40
μm
The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...
, dot the podetia's surface like fine dust.
Usnic acid
Usnic acid is a naturally occurring dibenzofuran derivative found in several lichen species with the formula C18H16O7. It was first isolated by German scientist W. Knop in 1844 and first synthesized between 1933-1937 by Curd and Robertson. Usnic a ...
and
homosekikaic acid occur within ''Cladonia lutescens'' but it does not respond to the standard chemical
spot tests. It closely aligns with the Cocciferae section within its genus. A comparison can be drawn with ''
C. bacilliformis'', a species found across the
boreal zone's coniferous trees. However, the presence of homosekikaic acid, absent in ''C. bacilliformis'', helps distinguish ''Cladonia lutescens''.
Habitat and distribution
Found only in Himachal Pradesh's Himalayan region, ''Cladonia lutescens'' prefers the bark of
conifer
Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
ous trees, especially those in the genus ''
Pinus''. It thrives in harsh conditions at altitudes ranging between .
See also
*
List of ''Cladonia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q107569167
lutescens
Lichen species
Lichens described in 2007
Lichens of the Indian subcontinent
Taxa named by Teuvo Ahti
Taxa named by Dalip Kumar Upreti