(Parmelia sulcata)
Conservation • Description • Biology • Use • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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IUCN Red List | not listed |
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NatureServe | NNR - Unranked |
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Minnesota | not listed |
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Description |
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Hammered Shield Lichen is a widespread, abundant, weedy lichen. It occurs across the northern hemisphere, in southern Africa, and in Australia. It is very common in Minnesota. It grows on the bark of deciduous and coniferous trees in relatively open habitats, disturbed sites, and agricultural lands. It also grows on mossy rock, but only rarely grows on soil. The vegetative body (thallus) is leaf-like (foliose), greenish-gray to whitish-gray, more or less circular in outline, and divided into branches (lobes). The lobes are flat, 1 ⁄16″ to 3 ⁄16″ (2 to 5 mm) wide, widely spreading, overlapping, and touching but separate, not fused together. The tips are abruptly squared, as if cut off (truncate). The upper surface is shiny but sometimes has a white, flour-like or frost-like covering (pruinose). It has abundant powdery granules (soredia). It does not have shiny granules (isidia). It may be smooth but usually has a network of sharp ridges and depressions giving it a “hammered” appearance. This is the feature that gives the lichen its common name. It has minute, elongated, rounded openings (pseudocyphellae), and sometimes develops cracks along prominent pseudocyphellae. The lower thallus surface is black and is moderately to densely covered with black, unbranched root-like structures (rhizines). When wet, the thallus can usually be removed intact with a knife. Hammered Shield Lichen rarely produces disk-like spore producing structures (apothecia). When present, they are 1 ⁄16″ to 5 ⁄16″ (2 to 8 mm) wide and have a dark brown disc. |
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Similar Species |
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Biology |
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Substrate |
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Trees |
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Growth Form |
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Foliose |
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Habitat |
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Open habitats, disturbed sites, and agricultural lands. |
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Hosts |
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Trees and mossy rock. |
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Use |
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Crottles are various lichens that were used to make dyes. Parmelia sulcata, sometimes called “Powdered Crottle”, was used as the source for a reddish-brown dye. |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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5/30/2022 | ||||
Occurrence |
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Widespread and abundant |
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Taxonomy |
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Kingdom | Fungi (fungi) | ||
Subkingdom | Dikarya | ||
Phylum | Ascomycota (sac fungi) | ||
Subphylum | Pezizomycotina | ||
Class | Lecanoromycetes (common lichens) | ||
Subclass | Lecanoromycetidae | ||
Order |
Lecanorales | ||
Suborder |
Lecanorineae | ||
Family |
Parmeliaceae (shield lichens and allies) | ||
Subfamily | Parmelioideae | ||
Genus |
Parmelia (shield lichens) | ||
Mycobiont | Parmelia sulcata | ||
Photobiont | |||
Synonyms |
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Parmotrema sulcata Parmotrema sulcatum |
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Common Names |
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Cracked-shield Lichen Furrowed Shield Lichen Hammered Shield Lichen Powdered Crottle Powdered Shield Shield Lichen Waxpaper Lichen |
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Glossary
Apothecium
An open, disk-shaped or cup-shaped, reproductive structure, with spore sacs on the upper surface, that produces spores for the fungal partner of a lichen. Plural: apothecia.
Foliose
Adjective: Leaf-like growth form; referring to lichens with leaf-like growths divided into lobes.
Noun: The leaf-like, vegetative body of a lichen (thallus) that has thin, flat lobes which are free from the substrate.
Isidium
The reproductive structure of a lichen consisting of a cluster of algal cells (the photobiont) wrapped in fungal filaments (the mycobiont) and enclosed within a layer of protective tissue (cortex). Plural: isidia.
Rhizine
A root-like structure of a lichen that attaches the lower layer to the substrate.
Soredium
The reproductive structure of a lichen consisting of a cluster of algal cells (the photobiont) wrapped in fungal filaments (the mycobiont). Plural: soredia.
Thallus
The vegetative body of a lichen composed of both the alga and the fungus.
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Created: 11/25/2019
Last Updated: