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Dog lichen

Peltigera sp.

Photo by mauna Kunzah
Published on Project Noah
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42.0721, -74.1109

Field Notes

Description:

Unusual foliose lichen, dusky brown or gray in color. Each piece is about 3/4 - 1 inch in size. Also known as the felt lichen.

Habitat:

Mountain alpine, 3100+ ft. This grows on a moss covered rock face.

Notes:

May be P. polydactylon or P. praetextata.

Species ID Suggestions

Fingered Dog Lichen

Peltigera polydactyla

Reference Link
chesterbperry
1

Comments (5)
chesterbperry
Here are couple great links that may help you decide on this lichen's identity and others you encounter, http://lichens.digitalmycology.com/macrolichens/macrolichens.html http://www.lichen.com/index.html
mauna Kunzah
You're right, Chester, I don't think they list any lichen info. But, I learned from Wiki that there are 91 species of Peltigera, about a third of which are found in N. America. I'm kind of hesistant about a species level ID, although my spotting does resemble P. polydactylon. I just can't find enough info on it. For example, Peltigera praetextata also looks similar: http://www.discoverlife.org/20/q?search=Peltigera+praetextata
chesterbperry
It was a first for me too Kunzah when I came across some, QWMom identified it for me. As for the USDA site I do not think they have any info on lichens, at least none that I have ever checked, I always find exactly what you did.
mauna Kunzah
Thank you, Chester! I've never seen this lichen before.

Spotted for Missions

The Color Green - Northeastern US
Mission
Fruiting Bodies of the World
Mission
Lichens
Mission
Mission WILD
Mission
National Geographic's Great Nature Project

Tags

Photographed
PublishedAugust 29, 2013

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