''Calicium pinicola'' is a species of

lignicolous This glossary of mycology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to mycology, the study of fungi. Terms in common with other fields, if repeated here, generally focus on their mycology-specific meaning. Related terms can be found ...

(wood-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Caliciaceae. It is widely distributed in Europe, and also occurs in the United States.

Taxonomy

The lichen was first formally described as new to science in 1969 by Swedish lichenologist

Leif Tibell Leif Tibell (born 16 November 1944) is a Swedish lichenologist and Emeritus Professor at the University of Uppsala. He is known for his expertise on calicioid lichens. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2012 for lifetime achievements in lich ...

, as ''Cyphelium pinicola''. Maria Prieto and Mats Wedin transferred it to the genus ''

Calicium ''Calicium'' is a genus of leprose lichens. It is in the family Caliciaceae. The sexual reproduction structures are a mass of loose ascospores that are enclosed by a cup shaped exciple sitting on top of a tiny stalk, having the appearance of ...

'' in 2016 following a molecular phylogenetics study of the Caliciaceae-

Physciaceae The Physciaceae are a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. A 2016 estimate placed 19 genera and 601 species in the family. Genera This is a list of the genera contained within ...

clade.

Description

''Calicium pinicola'' has a yellowish-green, warty (''verrucose'') thallus that is quite thin and sometimes partially immersed in the

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...

. Its apothecia are black, sessile with a partial constriction at the base, and measure 0.4–0.6 mm in diameter. The ascospores, which number eight per

ascus An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or s ...

are

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

with a single

septum In biology, a septum (Latin for ''something that encloses''; plural septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Human anatomy * Interatri ...

, and measure 13–17 by 7–9

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

. ''Calicium pinicola'' contains

rhizocarpic acid Rhizocarpic acid is an organic compound with the molecular formula C28H23NO6 which has been isolated from the lichen ''Rhizocarpon geographicum'' and other lichens A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacter ...

, a lichen product that presents as small yellow crystals in the cortex).

Distribution

''Calicium pinicola'' grows on decorticated wood, particularly that of '' Pinus sylvestris'', but it has also been recorded on '' Betula'' and ''

Larix Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains furth ...

''. A preferred microhabitat is the dead twigs of living pine trees. In Switzerland, ''Calicium pinicola'' is threatened with extinction, and it has been categorised as vulnerable in Italy. Other countries from which it has been reported include Austria, Macedonia, the United States, Turkey, and Kandalaksha in Arctic Russia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107534021 pinicola Lichen species Lichens described in 1969 Taxa named by Leif Tibell Lichens of Middle Europe Lichens of Southeastern Europe Lichens of the United States Lichens of Western Asia Lichens of Eastern Europe