''Parmelia sulcata'' is a

foliose lichen Foliose lichen is one of the morphological classes of lichens, which are complex organisms that arise from the symbiotic relationship between fungi and a photosynthetic partner, typically algae. This partnership allows lichen to live in diverse ...

in the family

Parmeliaceae The Parmeliaceae is a large and diverse family of Lecanoromycetes. With over 2700 species in 71 genera, it is the largest family of lichen-forming fungi. The most speciose genera in the family are the well-known groups: '' Xanthoparmelia'' ( 822 ...

. It is very tolerant of pollution and has a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...

, making it one of the most common

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Trebouxia ''Trebouxia'' is a unicellular green alga.Silverside, A. J. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.bioref.lastdragon.org/Chlorophyta/''Trebouxia''.html It is a photosynthetic organism that can exist in almost all habitats found in polar, tropical, and ...

'' green algal symbiont.

Taxonomy

First described by Thomas Taylor in 1836 under its current name, ''Parmelia sulcata'' has a large number of named

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

and

forms Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data * ...

, but no

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

despite its extensive range. Most taxonomists have left the species in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

to which Taylor originally assigned it, though

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...

Maurice Choisy Maurice Gustave Benoît Choisy (29 June 1897 – 19 June 1966) was a French mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to h ...

assigned it to the genus ''

Parmotrema ''Parmotrema'' is a genus of lichen belonging to the family Parmeliaceae. It is a large genus, containing an estimated 300 species, with a centre of diversity in subtropical regions of South America and the Pacific Islands. Members of the genus ...

'' in 1952. The genus name ''Parmelia'' is a compound of two

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

words: ''parme'', meaning "fruit bowl" and ''-eileo'', meaning "enclosed". This likely refers to the lecanorine

apothecia An ascocarp, or ascoma (), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are mo ...

of species belonging to the genus. 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 ...

''sulcata'' is derived from ''sulcatus'', meaning "grooved" or "furrowed". The species is known by a number of colloquial names, including hammered shield lichen, cracked-shield lichen, powdered crottle, furrowed shield lichen, powdered shield, and waxpaper lichen.

Description

''Parmelia sulcata'' is a foliose lichen with a generally circular

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 ...

that can range in color from

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), g ...

white to gray on the upper

cortex Cortex or cortical may refer to: Biology * Cortex (anatomy), the outermost layer of an organ ** Cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the vertebrate cerebrum, part of which is the ''forebrain'' *** Motor cortex, the regions of the cerebral cortex i ...

; the lower surface is black. The thallus is broadly lobed. Each lobe measures between in width, and lobes are overlapping. The lichen's

medulla Medulla or Medullary may refer to: Science * Medulla oblongata, a part of the brain stem * Renal medulla, a part of the kidney * Adrenal medulla, a part of the adrenal gland * Medulla of ovary, a stroma in the center of the ovary * Medulla of t ...

and

soredia Soredia are common reproductive structures of lichens. Lichens reproduce asexually by employing simple fragmentation and production of soredia and isidia. Soredia are powdery propagules composed of fungal hyphae wrapped around cyanobacteria or ...

react positively with

potassium hydroxide Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash. Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which exp ...

(K), turning red-orange. They react positively with para-phenylenediamene (Pd) as well, also turning orange. The lichen does not fluoresce in ultraviolet light.

Distribution and habitat

''Parmelia sulcata'' is a common species throughout much of the world, found from temperate to cold regions of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Ecology

This species can be used to make dyes, producing a reddish-brown color.

Indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

in North America used the lichen medicinally. The

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

peoples rubbed it on the gums of teething babies, while the

Saanich people The Saanich or (, ''Xwsenəč'') are Indigenous peoples of North America, indigenous nations from the north coast of the Gulf Islands, Gulf and San Juan Islands, southern Vancouver Island and the southern edge of the Lower Mainland in British C ...

s used it for a variety of ailments, with the medicinal qualities depending on what type of tree it was harvested from. It often grows in lichen communities with other species. In the

Jura Mountains The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Frenc ...

of Switzerland, for example, it regularly occurs with ''

Lobaria pulmonaria ''Lobaria pulmonaria'' is a large epiphytic lichen consisting of an ascomycete fungus and a green algal partner living together in a symbiotic relationship with a cyanobacterium—a symbiosis involving members of three kingdoms of organisms. ...

'' and various ''

Nephroma ''Nephroma'' is a genus of medium to large foliose lichens. The genus has a widespread distribution. They are sometimes called kidney lichens, named after the characteristic kidney-shaped apothecia that they produce on the lower surface of their ...

'' species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q135021 sulcata Lichen species Cosmopolitan species Lichens described in 1836 Taxa named by Thomas Taylor (botanist)