Field Dog Lichen
(Peltigera rufescens)
Conservation • Description • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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| IUCN Red List | not listed |
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| NatureServe | not listed |
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| Minnesota | not listed |
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Description |
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Field Dog Lichen lichen grows on the ground in full sun in fields and sandy areas. The vegetative bodies (thallus) are leaf-like (foliose) with broad, upturned lobes. They look like dog’s ears, giving the lichen its common name. They are attached to the soil at occasional points by tufted or fibrous, anchoring structures (rhizines). The upper surface is dark brownish-gray at the base, fading to bluish-gray then ash-gray at the margins, and densely covered with minute, felty hairs. The undersurface is brownish and densely covered with white hairs. The margins are wavy or crinkled. The rhizines are white near the margins of the lobes and dark brown away from the margins. |
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Similar Species |
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Alternating Dog Lichen (Peltigera didactyla) thallus upper surface has round, pale, blue-gray, granular patches. All of the rhizines are whitish. Dog Lichen (Peltigera caninna) has larger, |
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Ecology |
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Substrate |
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Ground |
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Growth Form |
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Foliose |
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Habitat |
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Fields, roadsides, hiking trails. Full or partial sun. Sandy soil. |
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Hosts |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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| 7/8/2022 | ||||
Occurrence |
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Widespread and common |
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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 (shield lichens, sunburst lichens, rosette lichens, and allies) | ||
Order |
Peltigerales | ||
Suborder |
Peltigerineae | ||
Family |
Peltigeraceae | ||
Genus |
Peltigera (pelt lichens) | ||
| Mycobiont | Peltigera rufescens | ||
| Photobiont | Nostoc | ||
Synonyms |
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Common Names |
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Felt Lichen Field Dog Lichen Field Dog-lichen |
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Glossary
Apothecia
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.
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.
Mycobiont
The fungal partner of a lichen.
Photobiont
The photosynthetic partner of a lichen; either green algae or cyanobacteria.
Rhizine
A root-like structure of a lichen that attaches the lower layer to the substrate.
Thallus
The vegetative body of a lichen composed of both the alga and the fungus.
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Other Videos |
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| A Lichen of red mountain pass area. Peltigera rufescens Mike's thoughts on plants. |
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About
Jul 25, 2021 Moist sites on humus (swampy) which is not the same as the dirt loving Peltigeras of Ouray and Ridgway, Colorado. |
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