''Dictyonema darwinianum'' is a species of

basidiolichen Basidiolichens are lichenized members of the Basidiomycota, a much smaller group of lichens than the far more common ascolichens in the Ascomycota. In arctic, alpine, and temperate forests, the most common basidiolichens are in the agaric genus ...

in the family

Hygrophoraceae The Hygrophoraceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Originally conceived as containing white-spored, thick-gilled agarics (gilled mushrooms), including ''Hygrophorus'' and ''Hygrocybe'' species (the waxcaps or waxy caps), DNA evide ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

, where it grows as an

epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

on the bark of branches and trunks, often closely associated with or overgrowing

bryophyte The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in ...

s and interspersed

detritus In biology, detritus () is dead particulate organic material, as distinguished from dissolved organic material. Detritus typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organisms, and fecal material. Detritus typically hosts commun ...

. It was formally described as a new species in 2017 by Manuela Dal-Forno, Frank Bungartz, and

Robert Lücking Robert Lücking (born 1964) is a German lichenologist. He is a leading expert on foliicolous lichens–lichens that live on leaves. Life and career Born in Ulm in 1964, Lücking earned both his master's (1990) and PhD degree (1994) at the Univer ...

. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

was collected along the trail from Bellavista to El Puntudo on

Santa Cruz Island Santa Cruz Island (Spanish: ''Isla Santa Cruz'', Chumash: ''Limuw'') is located off the southwestern coast of Ventura, California, United States. It is the largest island in California and largest of the eight islands in the Channel Islands a ...

at an altitude of . The lichen is common and widespread on the Galápagos Islands, where it forms dark bluish-green filamentous and crust-like mats on ''

Frullania ''Frullania'' is the only genus of liverworts in family Frullaniaceae. It contains the following species: A *''Frullania aculeata'' Taylor, 1846 *''Frullania acutata'' Caspary, 1887 *''Frullania acutiloba'' Gerola, 1947 *'' Frullania akiyama ...

'' liverworts and associated forest detritus. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''darwinianum'' honours

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

and the

Charles Darwin Foundation The Charles Darwin Foundation (Spanish: ''Fundación Charles Darwin'') was founded in 1959, under the auspices of UNESCO and the World Conservation Union. The Charles Darwin Research Station serves as headquarters for The Foundation, and is used ...

References

darwinianum Lichen species Lichens described in 2017 Lichens of the Galápagos Islands Taxa named by Robert Lücking Basidiolichens {{Hygrophoraceae-stub