''Cladonia squamosa'' or the dragon cup lichen is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

cup lichen A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

in the family Cladoniaceae.

Description

The primary

thallus Thallus (plural: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. Many of these organisms wer ...

is composed of medium-sized, crenate squamules, approximately 1.5-7mm. long, and 1-5mm. wide. The upper surface is

fawn Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

or tan to cinnamon-colored varying toward greenish grey. The apothecia are small, ranging from .5–3 mm. in diameter, and are located on the margin of the cups or at the ends of branches or proliferations. They are

to cinnamon-colored. The

paraphyses Paraphyses are erect sterile filament-like support structures occurring among the reproductive apparatuses of fungi, ferns, bryophytes and some thallophytes. The singular form of the word is paraphysis. In certain fungi, they are part of the fe ...

are usually simple, sometimes thickened, and are brownish towards the apex. The

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in others some ...

is pale or pale-brownish below and brownish above. The

asci ASCI or Asci may refer to: * Advertising Standards Council of India * Asci, the plural of ascus, in fungal anatomy * Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative * American Society for Clinical Investigation * Argus Sour Crude Index * Association of ...

are lecanoralean, with a thickened

tholus In planetary nomenclature, a tholus (pl. tholi ) is a small domical mountain or hill. The word is from the Greek θόλος, ''tholos'' (pl. ''tholoi''), which means a circular building with a conical or vaulted roof. The Romans transliterated th ...

. There are a usually 8

ascospore An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or s ...

s, which are oblong or oblong-obtuse to

fusiform Fusiform means having a spindle-like shape that is wide in the middle and tapers at both ends. It is similar to the lemon-shape, but often implies a focal broadening of a structure that continues from one or both ends, such as an aneurysm on a b ...

in shape, between 5-17 μm. long and 2.5-3.5 μm. wide.

Conidia A conidium ( ; ), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (), is an asexual, non-motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also called mitospores due to the ...

are

falcate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

and 3-8 μm. long.Fink, Bruce (1907). Further Notes on Cladonias. IX. Cladonia squamosa and Cladonia subsquamosa. ''The Bryologist'' , Mar., 1907, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Mar., 1907), pp. 21-23. American Bryological and Lichenological Society.

Range

The species is widely distributed; it is found in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and on King George Island in Antarctica. It grows on mosses such as ''

Chorisodontium aciphyllum ''Chorisodontium aciphyllum'' is a species of moss found primarily on both sides of the Drake Passage. The species exhibits an extreme degree of cryptobiosis – the ability of a life form to enter a non- metabolic state, extending life indef ...

'', ''

Polytrichum strictum ''Polytrichum strictum'', commonly known as bog haircap moss or strict haircap, is an evergreen and perennial species of moss native to ''Sphagnum'' bogs and other moist habitats in temperate climates. It has a Circumboreal Region, circumboreal ...

, Andrea gainii'', and ''

Sanionia uncinata ''Sanionia'' is a genus of mosses belonging to the family Amblystegiaceae. The genus has cosmopolitan distribution, and was circumscribed by Leopold Loeske in Verh. Bot. Vereins. Prov. Brandenburg vol.49 on page 63 in 1907. The genus is named ...

''.

Biochemistry

Secondary metabolites of ''Cladonia squamosa'' 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 ...

, decarboxythamnolic acid,

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 ...

, squamatic acid as well as various unknown or unidentified terpenes and/or

terpenoids The terpenoids, also known as isoprenoids, are a class of naturally occurring organic chemicals derived from the 5-carbon compound isoprene and its derivatives called terpenes, diterpenes, etc. While sometimes used interchangeably with "terpenes", ...

.Culberson, Chicita F. (1970), Supplement to "Chemical and Botanical Guide to Lichen Products" The Bryologist , Summer, 1970, Vol. 73, No. 2 (Summer, 1970) p. 257, American Bryological and Lichenological Society

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q22114140} squamosa Lichen species Lichens of North America Lichens described in 1772 Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli