Many-fruited Pelt Lichen

Description

Many-fruited Pelt Lichen is a common and widespread, medium-sized lichen. It occurs throughout the world on every continent except Antarctica. It is most common in the temperate and boreal regions of Europe and North America. It occurs throughout most of the United States and southern Canada, but it is absent from the Great Plains and the Great Basin. It grows in shady areas of forests with high humidity, on soil, on moss-covered logs and rocks, on plant debris on the ground, and sometimes at the mossy bases of tree trunks and stumps.

The vegetative body (thallus) is leaf-like (foliose) and forms a rosette 2″ to 8″ (5 to 20 cm) in diameter or sometimes larger. When it first appears, it grows with a roughly circular form. As it ages it disintegrates into irregular groups of elongated lobes. The lobes are ⅜″ to ¾″ (1 to 2 cm) wide and 1½″ to 2″ (4 to 5 cm) long, sometimes much longer. The tips are rounded to almost squared off, and often ascending. The margins are more or less wavy or crumpled (crisped).

The upper surface is smooth, shiny, and blackish green when wet, bluish gray to brown when dry. It is sometimes whitish toward the margins. Isidia and soredia are not produced.

The lower surface is whitish with a network of flattened veins. The veins are flattened and dark brown toward the center, yellowish brown toward the margins. It is loosely attached to the surface by brown to black, branched or bushy, root-like structures (rhizines) near the base of each lobe.

Sexual (spore-producing) reproductive structures (apothecia) are frequent to abundant on the margins of rather long, ascending lobes. The apothecia are 3 ⁄16″ to 5⁄16″ (5 to 8 mm) in diameter, oblong to more or less round, becoming curved inward and appearing saddle shaped. The disc is smooth and reddish brown, becoming dark brown with age.

To help identify lichens, specialists perform spot tests by applying a drop of common chemical reagents to the surface. Many lichens show a distinctive color change—their unique “chemical fingerprint.” However, Many-fruited Pelt Lichen does not react to any of the standard tests, including the crucial P-test, meaning it shows no color change when the chemicals are applied.

Similar Species

Ecology

Substrate

Ground

Growth Form

Foliose

Habitat

Forests with high humidity

Hosts