''Cetrelia chicitae'' is a species of
foliose lichen in the family
Parmeliaceae. It is found in eastern Asia, North America, and Europe, where it grows on mossy rocks and tree trunks.
Taxonomy
It was first
formally described in 1965 by American lichenologist
William L. Culberson as ''Cetraria chicitae''. The
type specimen was collected in
Gaudineer Knob
Gaudineer Knob is a mountain summit on the Randolph/ Pocahontas County line in eastern West Virginia, USA. It is the highest elevation (4,449 ft/1,356 m) of Shavers Mountain, a ridge of the Alleghenies, and is located about east of Cheat ...
, a mountain summit in eastern
West Virginia.
The taxon was transferred to the new genus ''
Cetrelia'' in 1968.
The
specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''chicitae'' honours Culberson's wife
Chicita Culberson
Chicita Frances Culberson (born Chicita Frances Forman, November 1, 1931 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American lichenologist.
Education
She graduated with a B.S. from the University of Cincinnati in 1953, where she also met her future h ...
, also a lichenologist.
Description
''Cetrelia chicitae'' has a foliose (leafy)
thallus, greenish-gray to pale brownish-gray in colour, comprising broad, undulating lobes measuring in diameter. The thallus surface features white
soredia, powdery to coarsely granular in form, that lie on the lobe margins.
Pseudocyphella
Pseudocyphellae (singular ''pseudocyphella'') are structures in lichens that appear as tiny pores on the outer surface (the cortex of the lichen. They are caused when there is a break in the cortex of the lichen, and the medullary hyphae extend t ...
e are present on the upper thallus surface; they are mostly within 0.15–0.6 mm in diameter. The thallus undersurface is black to brown, sometimes with blotches of ivory colour at the margins.
Rhizines are sparse (usually absent at the margins) and black.
found in the lichen include
atranorin, found in the upper
cortex, and
alectoronic and
α-collatolic acids, present in the
medulla.
Habitat and distribution
The lichen grows on both mossy boulders and tree trunks. In east Asia it has been found in Korea, Japan, and
Sakhalin. Its North American distribution extends from
New Brunswick west to
southern Ontario and south to
Tennessee and
North Carolina.
It has been recorded from various locales in Europe, although it is relatively uncommon there.
''Cetrelia chicitae'' is
critically endangered in Poland.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q21156184
Parmeliaceae
Lichen species
Lichens of Asia
Lichens of Europe
Lichens of North America
Lichens described in 1965
Taxa named by William Louis Culberson