''Sticta papillata'' 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. Found in Colombia, it was formally described by Bibiana Moncada 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 ...

in 2012. 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 in the

páramo Páramo () can refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

Villapinzón Villapinzón is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Almeidas Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre is situated at an elevation of on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, at a distance of from the capital Bogotá. ...

( Cundinamarca) at an altitude of . It is only known to occur in the Colombian

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, in the Cordillera Occidental and the Cordillera Oriental, at elevations between . The lichen grows on the bark of shrubs and trees, often in association with liverworts of the genera ''

Radula The radula (, ; plural radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food ...

'' and '' Metzgeria'', as well as ''

Leptogium ''Leptogium'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Collemataceae. It has about 110 species. Species *'' Leptogium acadiense'' *'' Leptogium adnatum'' – South America *''Leptogium andegavense'' *'' Leptogium antarcticum'' *''L ...

'' lichens. 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 ...

refers to the characteristic papillae (small protrusions) that occur on the cells of the basal membrane of the cyphellae.

References

papillata Lichen species Lichens described in 2012 Lichens of Colombia Taxa named by Robert Lücking {{Peltigerales-stub