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dot lichen

Scientific Name: Arthonia stictella

Family: Arthoniaceae

Category: Lichen

Growth: Lichenous

Duration:

Other Names:

       

Dot Lichen

Dot lichen is a common name applied to lichens within the genera Arthonia or Micarea. The term "dotted lichens" may also refer to lichens in the genus Bacidia.

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

  • Group: Lichen
  • Family: Arthoniaceae (for Arthonia) and Icmadophilaceae (for Pink Dot Lichen) and Micareaceae for Micarea erratica
  • Kingdom: Fungi (Based on "Kingdom Fungi > Phylum Ascomycota >")

Common Names and Examples:

  • Birchbark Dot Lichen (Leptorhaphis epidermidis, Leptorhaphis atomaria)
  • Orange Dot Lichen (Protoblastenia rupestris)
  • Hidden Dot Lichen (Japewia tornoensis)
  • Pink Dot Lichen (Dibaeis absoluta)
  • Cherry-laurel dot lichen
  • Globe Dot Lichen (Micarea globulosella)
  • Granite firedot lichen (Caloplaca arenaria)
  • Sulfur Firedot Lichen
  • Scatter-dot Goldspeck Lichen
  • Nitschke's dot lichen (Micarea nitschkeana)
  • Tuckerman's dot lichen (Arthonia tuckermaniana)
  • Dispersed dot lichen (Arthonia dispersa)

Morphological Characteristics:

  • Mycobilimbia pilularis ('Dot Lichen') is a crustose lichen with a grayish-green thallus (body) without soredia or isidia (types of asexual reproductive structures).
  • It has yellowy-brown biatorine, convex apothecia (fruiting bodies).
  • Pink Dot Lichen (Dibaeis absoluta) has pink apothecia born on very short (ca. 1 mm) stalks.

Distribution and Habitat:

  • One of the most abundant lichens in the New Orleans area.
  • Grows in small dots on rocks in Mt. Rainier National Park.
  • Arthonia rubella found on Palm tree bark in Bahia Honda Key, Florida, USA.

Synonyms:

  • City Dot Lichen (Scoliciosporum chlorococcum) - Synonym: Bacidia chlorococca

Quirky Facts

  • The text mentions a headline "I'm lichen it!" referencing an article about eating oak moss.

Resources and Further Information:

  • Encyclopedia of Life
  • Catalogue of Life
  • USDA
  • MO (likely Missouri Botanical Garden)
  • ToL (Tree of Life Web Project)
  • BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library)
  • WikiSpecies
  • Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
  • ResearchGate