''Sticta densiphyllidiata'' is a species of foliose lichen in the family Peltigeraceae. Found in Puerto Rico, it was formally described as a new species in 2020 by Joel Mercado‐Díaz 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 was collected by the authors along a trail in El Yunque National Forest (

Mameyes II Mameyes II is a barrio in the municipality of Río Grande, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 2,732. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and b ...

, Río Grande), at an altitude of .The lichen is common in the

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s on the eastern part of the island, where it thrives in humid and shaded habitats. It grows on rocks but the authors note that it could also grow 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 ...

. 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 ...

''densiphyllidiata '' refers to the dense distribution of branched phyllidia (vegetative

propagule In biology, a propagule is any material that functions in propagating an organism to the next stage in its life cycle, such as by dispersal. The propagule is usually distinct in form from the parent organism. Propagules are produced by organisms ...

s) that occur along the margins of the lobes.

References

densiphyllidiata Lichen species Lichens described in 2020 Lichens of the Caribbean Taxa named by Robert Lücking {{Peltigerales-stub