Red fruited Cladonias + few more species with pale apothecia Alica Košuthová Cladonia coccifera Cocciferae (Red fruited plus pale fruited Cladonias): - ca. 80 species worldwide, 22 (23) species in Europe, (20 in Sweden, 19 in Austria, 16 in the Czech Republic) - traditionally characterized by red hymenia - recently: species with pale apothecia included ! - monophyletic, defined by diagnostic chemical characters Cladonia botrytes Cladonia pleurota Cladonia coccifera 1) red fruited: Cladonia alpina 2) with pale apothecia: C. bacilliformis C. bellidiflora C. botrytes C. borealis C. carneola C. coccifera C. cyanipes C. deformis C. norvegica C. digitata C. diversa C. floerkeana (C. granulans) C. incrassata C. luteoalba C. macilenta C. pleurota C. polydactyla C. straminea C. sulphurina C. vulcani How to follow the key? - Podetia usually grey to brown, more rarely yellowish, often sorediate or squamulose, unbranched to richly branched, surface smoothly corticate or not. PD+ red or PD- Apothecia (hymenial discs) and slime in picnidia red (occationally visible in osciolum). Necrotic bases often turning orange. PD – or rarely PD+yellow, never red - Apothecia brown to ochraceous, slime in picnidia usually hyaline (never red). Necrotic bases grey, brown or melanotic. PD+ red (commonly), PD+ yellow or PDred colour caused by presence of rhodocladonic acid – this substance is usually present in hymenial discs or in pycnidia, but it can be produced also after mite infection in Cladonia norvegica (which has pale apothecia) Cladonia norvegica Vegetative propagules: soredia, granules, plates, microsquamules soredia granules microsquamules plates soredia: - usually easy to recognise - often smaller compared to other vegetative propagules - usually without cortex (in contrast to other veg. propagules) - but when not small and with cortex then hard to distuinguish - Podetia with yellowish tint. Usnic acid present - Podetia brownish or greenish grey. Usnic acid absent Usnic acid – present in cortex !! content of usnic acid might vary (longitudinally, altitudinally, sun-exposed vs.shadowed habitats...) – yellowish tint not always clearly visible!! Podetia with yellowish tint. Usnic acid present 1) red fruited: Cladonia alpina 2) with pale apothecia: C. bacilliformis C. bellidiflora C. botrytes C. borealis C. carneola C. coccifera C. cyanipes C. deformis C. norvegica C. digitata C. diversa C. floerkeana (C. granulans) C. incrassata C. luteoalba C. macilenta C. pleurota C. polydactyla C. straminea C. sulphurina C. vulcani - Podetia brownish or greenish grey. Usnic acid absent C. sulphurina similar species: Cladonia deformis – C. deformis is UV negative (does not contain squamatic acid) and produces crystal needles (zeorin? - in herbarium material) - C. sulhurina is usually (not always!) more deformed - podetia tall (up to 8 cm), farinose sorediate (squamulose at base), yellow, scyphose – much deformed - contains usnic and squamatic acids (UV+ white) - peatlands, rotten wood, alpine and arctic heaths, rock outcrops, boulder screes C. deformis - podetia usually tall (up to 8 cm), farinose sorediate (corticate at base), yellow, scyphose – scyphi usually regular, with dentate margins - contains usnic acid, zeorin (UV-, crystals in herbarium material) - on humus rich soil, rotten wood, boulder screes, rock outcrops, heaths similar species: Cladonia pleurota – same chemistry, but shorter and with coarser soredia (however, C. deformis might also form short-podetiate forms – soredia size is the proper distinguishing character!!) Cladonia sulphurina – easy to recognise by positive UV reaction CladoniaCladonia digitata - recognizable by large squamules, to 1,5 (3) cm long, underside and margins sorediate; podetia often defomed, surface corticate with sorediate patches - thamnolic acid – UV-, K+ yellow, P+ yellow - on bases and trunks of trees, on rotten wood, on soil similar species: C. polydactyla – has smaller squamules, different podetial surface Cladonia polydactyla - primary thallus small, podetia narrow, green, usually forminh scyphi. Podetial surface granulose sorediate. - thamnolic acid – UV-, K+ yellow, PD+ yellow on bases and trunks of trees, on rotten wood, mossy rocks, on soil similar species: C. umbricola – usually does not react K+, P+; C. polydactyla forms welldefined soralia C. digitata – larger squamules, soredia in patches C. pleurota - podetia to 3 cm tall, scyphose, usually roughly sorediate (but sometimes also farinose sorediate), corticate at base - contains usnic acid, zeorin (UV-, crystals in herbarium material) - wide ecological amplitude, from very lowlands to high mountains, on different subtrata (even on a leather glove), rock outcrops, rotten wood, etc. - polyphyletic taxon The most usual taxon, very similar to Cladonia coccifera. Cladonia coccifera has similar chemistry, but it is never soredious. It has squamules. Cladonia coccifera Cladonia coccifera podetia to 3 cm tall, scyphose, scyphi wide; surface in lower part corticate, in upper part mainly areolate, cover by plates – usually somehow irregular - contains usnic acid, zeorin – UV negative; crystals in herbarium material - rock outcrops, soil; in Central Europe in mountains (C. diversa mostly in lowlands) similar species: C. borealis – contains barbatic acid (no crystals in herbarium material); more regular plates C. diversa – produces granules and/or microsquamules on the podetia, forms narrover podetia, different ecology Cladonia straminea (syn. C. metacorallifera) - podetia yellowish green or yellowish grey, slender, necrotic parts blackening, scyphose – scyphi narrow!, surface microsquamulose - 2 chemotypes: 1) usnic, didymic, squamatic acids (common; UV+); 2) usnic, didymic, thamnolic acid (rare) - on big boulders, rock outcrops, boulder screes, chionophobious, often on vertical site of the rock similar species: C. bellidiflora – usually ascyphose, with bigger squamules, does not contain didymic acid C. coccifera, C. diversa, C. borealis – podetia not so narrow, covered with plates or granules, with different chemistry (zeorin or barbatic acid present) Cladonia bellidiflora - podetia yellowish green, tall, narrow, squamulose, usually ascyphose (but scyphi sometimes present) - usnic and squamatic acids (UV+) - tundra, mountains, rock outcrops similar species: if scyphose then it might be confused with Cladonia straminea – but C. straminea has smaller squamules (microsquamules) and, additionaly to usnic acid, contains didymic acid (usually contains also squamatic acid) Cladonia floerkeana a macilenta - podetia to 4 cm tall, brownish grey, simple or more often branched. Podetial surface corticate, smooth to rough, not sorediate. - 2 chemotypes: 1) barbatic acid + sometimes didymic a. (K-, P-) 2) thamnolic a. and didymic acid (K+ yellow, P+ yellow) – rare - rock outcrops, bare mineral soils (sand dunes), sometimes on rotten wood – open biotopes similar species: C. floerkeana and C. macilenta – usually produces soredia (but when fertile gets corticate!), taxonomical problem not sort yet! Cladonia botrytes - podetia up to 3 cm, yellowish grey, tips always with pale apothecia. Podetial surface continuously corticate or areolate. usnic, barbatic acids, sometimes squamatic acid - usually on wood but in N might grow on soil - ephemeral species – podetia present only 1-2 years, requires certain age of stump similar species: no similar species!!