Cladonia coccifera | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Ascomycota |
Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
Order: | Lecanorales |
Family: | Cladoniaceae |
Genus: | Cladonia |
Species: | C. coccifera
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Binomial name | |
Cladonia coccifera | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Cladonia coccifera or madame's cup lichen [2] is a species of fruticose, cup lichen in the family Cladoniaceae. It was first described by Swedish lichenologist Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work Species Plantarum. [3] German botanist Carl Ludwig Willdenow transferred it to the genus Cladonia in 1787. [4] The lichen has apothecia and bright red pycnidia atop of yellowish to grey-green podetia that are 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) high. The base of the thallus comprises rounded squamules (scales) with a yellow to orange-brown undersurface. It typically occurs on acidic peaty and sandy soils. [5]
The lichen has a circumpolar distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, which extends south to the Himalayas. [6]