Calicium Carolinianum
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''Calicium carolinianum'' is a species of
lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...
in the family
Caliciaceae The Caliciaceae are a family (taxonomy), family of mostly lichen-forming fungus, fungi belonging to the class (taxonomy), class Lecanoromycetes in the division (mycology), division Ascomycota. Although the family has had its classification chan ...
. It is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the
Gulf Coastal Plain The Gulf Coastal Plain extends around the Gulf of Mexico in the Southern United States and eastern Mexico. This coastal plain reaches from the Florida Panhandle, southwest Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, the southern two-thirds of Alabama, over m ...
region of the United States. The lichen contains
norstictic acid Norstictic acid is a depsidone produced as a secondary metabolites in lichens. The compound contains both an aldehyde carbonyl group and an adjacent hydroxyl In chemistry, a hydroxy or hydroxyl group is a functional group with the chemical fo ...
, and has
ascospore In fungi, an ascospore is the sexual spore formed inside an ascus—the sac-like cell that defines the division Ascomycota, the largest and most diverse Division (botany), division of fungi. After two parental cell nucleus, nuclei fuse, the ascu ...
s that measure 13–17 by 8–9 
μm The micrometre (Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a unit of length in the International System ...
.


Taxonomy

The lichen was originally described as ''Acolium carolinianum'' by American botanist
Edward Tuckerman Edward Tuckerman (December 7, 1817, in Boston, Massachusetts – March 15, 1886) was an American botanist and professor who made significant contributions to the study of lichens and other alpine plants. He was a founding member of the Natural H ...
in 1872. He discovered it in
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
, after which the species is named.
Leif Tibell Leif Tibell (born 16 November 1944) is a Swedish lichenologist and Emeritus Professor at the University of Uppsala. He is known for his expertise on calicioid lichens. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2012 for lifetime achievements in lich ...
transferred it to the genus ''
Thelomma ''Thelomma'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Caliciaceae. The genus is widely distributed and contains seven species. ''Thelomma'' was circumscribed by Italian lichenologist Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo Abramo Bartolommeo Massalo ...
'' in 1976. In 2016, Maria Prieto and Mats Wedin proposed a transfer to the genus ''
Calicium ''Calicium'' is a genus of leprose lichens. It is in the family Caliciaceae, and has 40 species. The sexual reproduction structures are a mass of loose ascospores that are enclosed by a cup shaped exciple sitting on top of a tiny stalk, having ...
'', "until molecular investigations can clarify its position".


References

carolinianum Lichen species Lichens of the Southeastern United States Lichens described in 1872 Taxa named by Edward Tuckerman Fungi without expected TNC conservation status {{Caliciales-stub