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dot lichen
Scientific Name: Arthonia chiodectella
Family: Arthoniaceae
Category: Lichen
Growth: Lichenous
Duration:
Other Names:
Dot Lichens: An Overview
The common name "Dot Lichen" refers to lichens belonging to either the genus Arthonia or the genus Micarea. "Dotted lichens" is a similar common name applied to lichens in the genus Bacidia. This group of lichens exhibits a diverse range of appearances and ecological roles.
Taxonomy and Nomenclature
- Common Name: Dot Lichen, Dotted Lichen (for Bacidia)
- Genus: Arthonia, Micarea, Bacidia
- Family: Arthoniaceae (for Arthonia and related genera)
- Kingdom: Fungi (Lichens are a symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae/cyanobacteria)
Considerations for Pets
Preserved lichen can be used to make a pendant, often attached to a hemp wick necklace, for survival needs in nature.
Morphological Characteristics
- Mycobilimbia pilularis, described as 'Dot Lichen', is a crustose lichen with a grayish-green thallus lacking soredia or isidia. It features yellowy-brown biatorine, convex apothecia.
Distribution and Habitat
- Dot lichens are found in various environments, including on rocks (e.g., in Mt. Rainier National Park), tree bark (e.g., Arthonia rubella on palm trees in Bahia Honda Key, Florida), and other surfaces.
- Leptorhaphis species (birchbark dot lichen) are found on birch trees.
Specific Examples and Related Species
- Birchbark Dot Lichen: Leptorhaphis epidermidis, Leptorhaphis atomaria.
- Orange Dot Lichen: Protoblastenia rupestris
- Hidden Dot Lichen: Japewia torrensis
- Frosty-rimmed Dot Lichen: Bacidia rubella
- Pink Dot Lichen: Dibaeis absoluta (Family: Icmadophilaceae; features pink apothecia on short stalks)
- Poplar Dot Lichen: A lichen of the family Ramalinaceae.
- Cherry-laurel Dot Lichen
- City Dot Lichen: Scoliciosporum chlorococcum (Synonym: Bacidia chlorococca)
- Granite Firedot Lichen: Caloplaca arenaria
- Firedot Lichen: Caloplaca holocarpa
- Multicolored Dot Lichen: Cliostomum griffithii
- Dispersed Dot Lichen: Arthonia dispersa
- Tuckerman's Dot Lichen: Arthonia tuckermaniana
- Nitschke's Dot Lichen: Micarea nitschkeana
Ecological Role
- In the New Orleans area, dot lichens are described as abundant, often unnoticed.
Further Information
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Catalogue of Life
- USDA Plants Database
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
- ResearchGate (for Conservation Assessments)