''Peltigera retifoveata'' is a species of

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 Peltigeraceae. It is found in Scandinavia, western Eurasia and western North America, where it grows on the ground and amongst mosses.

Taxonomy

Because of its thallus surface texure, ''Peltigera retifoveata'' is a member of the species complex centred around '' Peltigera canina''. It was formally described as a new species in 1985 by the Finnish lichenologist Orvo Vitikainen. 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 by Vitikainen from Juuma (

Kuusamo Kuusamo ( sme, Guossán; smn, Kuáccám) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . T ...

, Finland) at an elevation of , where it was found growing on the ground among mosses. One vernacular name used in North America is "sponge pelt".

Description

The

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 ...

of ''P. retifoveata'' grows up to about in diameter, comprising individual that are about long and wide. The thallus surface is thickly tomentose near the margins, but becomes smoother ( near the centre. The thallus underside features thick, pale, tomentose veins, with white and pit-like interstices. The rhizines (root-like attachment structures) are dark brown to black and up to about 7 long; they are typically either unbranched or grouped in bundles. The apothecia (fruiting bodies) are 5–7 mm in diameter with margins turned upward.

Habitat and distribution

''Peltigera retifoveata'' has a circumpolar distribution. Although originally described from Finnish collections, it is uncommon in Europe, having been recorded from only a few locations in Scandinavia. There are also records from the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

and

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

. The lichen is more common in northern North America, with a range extending from

subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...

regions (

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

, and the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

, and including several western Canadian provinces:

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, and

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. The southern extent of its North American range reaches

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. It grows

on the ground "On the Ground" is the debut solo single by Korean-New Zealand singer and Blackpink member Rosé. It was released on 12 March 2021 by YG Entertainment as the lead single from her debut single album, '' R''. It was written by Rosé alongside Amy ...

, and amongst or on top of mosses in boreal forests; in Alaska, it has been found growing in moist tundra. Associated mosses include '' Pleurozium schreberi'', ''

Hylocomium sklendens ''Hylocomium'' is a genus of mosses belonging to the family Hylocomiaceae. The genus was first described by Wilhelm Philippe Schimper in 1852. Species: * ''Hylocomium interruptum'' Margadant, 1972 * ''Hylocomium splendens'' W.P. Schimper, 1852 ...

'', '' Ptilium crista-castrensis'', and species of ''

Dicranum ''Dicranum'' is a genus of mosses, also called wind-blown mosses or fork mosses. These mosses form in densely packed clumps. Stems may fork, but do not branch. In general, upright stems will be single but packed together. ''Dicranum'' is distrib ...

''. Other lichen species that are often found with ''Peltigera retifoveata'' are its relatives '' P. aphthosa'', '' P. leucophlebia'', and '' P. canina''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10622588 retifoveata Lichen species Lichens described in 1985 Lichens of Subarctic America Lichens of Northern Europe Lichens of North America Lichens of the Russian Far East Lichens of Siberia Taxa named by Orvo Vitikainen