''Umbilicaria hyperborea'', commonly known as blistered rock tripe, 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

Umbilicariaceae The Umbilicariaceae are a family of lichenized fungi in the Ascomycota. Species of this family are known from a variety of climates, including temperate, boreal, austral, and warmer montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of m ...

. It is widely distributed in arctic and alpine regions.

Taxonomy

It was first described as a new species by Swedish lichenologist Erik Acharius in 1794 as ''Lichen hyperboreus''. Georg Franz Hoffmann transferred it to the genus ''

Umbilicaria Rock tripe is the common name for various lichens of the genus ''Umbilicaria'' that grow on rocks. They are widely distributed, including on bare rock in Antarctica, and throughout northern parts of North America such as New England and the Rocky ...

'' in 1796. In a 2017

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis of the genus ''Umbilicaria'', ''U. hyperborea'' was proposed as the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

''Umbilicaria''. Closely related species include '' U. polyphylla'', '' U. iberica'', and '' U. arctica''.

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 ''Umbilicaria hyperborea'' ranges in colour from medium- to dark-brown, with texture of the upper surface more or less smooth or warty. The thallus undersurface is smooth, and there are not any rhizines. The disc-shaped apothecia are flat to convex and have multiple complex ridges.

Habitat and distribution

The lichen typically grows on rock in

arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of ...

s. It has, however, been recorded growing on acidic wood; specimens found in this substrate may have an altered

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

compared to those found on rock, such as stunted and faded thalli lacking apothecia. It is one of the most common ''Umbilicaria'' species in Arctic and adjacent Northern locations. ''Umbilicaria hyperborea'' has a very slow growth rate; in a study undertaken in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

, it was measured as 0.3–0.4 mm per year over the time period 1933–1970.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10602173 hyperborea Lichen species Lichens of Europe Lichens of Subarctic America Lichens described in 1794 Taxa named by Erik Acharius Lichens of the Arctic