''Cladonia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

-like

lichenized fungi 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 Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Cladoniaceae The Cladoniaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Lecanorales, comprising about 560 species distributed amongst 18 genera. This family is one of the largest among lichen-forming fungi and is globally distributed, from Arctic t ...

. They are the primary food source for

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

/caribou. ''Cladonia''

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

are of economic importance to reindeer-herders, such as the

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

or the

Nenets The Nenets (; ), in the past also called 'Samoyeds' or 'Yuraks', are a Samoyedic ethnic group native to Arctic Russia, Russian Far North. According to the latest census in 2021, there were 49,646 Nenets in the Russian Federation, most of them l ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...

compounds are extracted from some species to create antibiotic cream. The light green species ''

Cladonia stellaris ''Cladonia stellaris'' (star-tipped cup lichen or star reindeer lichen) is an ecologically important species of cup lichen that forms continuous mats over large areas of the ground in boreal and arctic regions around the circumpolar north. The ...

'' is used in

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

decorations. Although the

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...

of the genus ''Cladonia'' is still under investigation, two main morphological groups are commonly differentiated by taxonomists: the ''Cladonia'' morpho-type and the ''Cladina'' morpho-type. The ''Cladonia'' morpho-type has many more species, and is generally described as a group of squamulose (grow from squamules), cup-bearing lichens. The ''Cladina'' morpho-types are often referred to as forage lichens, mat-forming lichens, or reindeer lichens (due to their importance as caribou winter forage). ''

Cladonia perforata ''Cladonia perforata'' is a rare species of lichen known as Florida perforate cladonia and Florida perforate reindeer lichen. It is Endemism, endemic to the state of Florida in the United States, where it is known from 16 populations in four wide ...

'' ("perforate cladonia") is one of two on the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

Endangered Species List, and it should never be collected. It exists only in a few small populations in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Several ''Cladonia'' species grow on sand

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s. The presence, and luxuriant carpet-like growth, of ''Cladonia'' species is one of the defining characters of

grey dune Grey dunes are fixed, stable sand dunes that are covered by a continuous layer of herbaceous vegetation. These dunes are typically located 50–100 meters from the ocean shore and are found on the landward side of foredunes (also known as ye ...

, a priority

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

for conservation under the E.U. Habitats Directive. ''Cladonia'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

species including '' Chionodes continuella''.

Selected species

Selected species of ''Cladonia'' include:Walewski. Joe (2007). ''Lichens of the North Woods.'' Duluth, MN: Kollath+Stensaas Publ.

Gallery

Cladonia_apodocarpa_(EU).jpg, '' Cladonia apodocarpa'' Cladonia_caespiticia_(EU).jpg, '' Cladonia caespiticia'' Cladonia_coniocraea_(EU).jpg, '' Cladonia coniocraea'' – common powderhorn Cladonia convoluta 090308.jpg, '' Cladonia convoluta'' Cladonia cristatella EPA.jpg, '' Cladonia cristatella'' – British soldiers Cladonia_macilenta_9497.JPG, '' Cladonia macilenta'' var. ''bacillaris'' – lipstick cladonia Cladonia macrophyllodes 109105.jpg, '' Cladonia macrophyllodes'' – large-leaved cladonia Cladonia_grayi_complex_(EU).jpg, ''

Cladonia grayi ''Cladonia grayi'', commonly known as Gray's cup lichen or Gray's pixie cup, is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Cladoniaceae. It is characterised by small, leaf-like forming its and distinctive upright podetia (5–15 mm tal ...

'' complex Cladonia_parasitica_(EU).jpg, '' Cladonia parasitica'' Cladonia_peziziformis_(ECU).jpg, '' Cladonia peziziformis'' Cladonia_pleurota_(EU).jpg, '' Cladonia pleurota'' – red-fruited pixie cup Cladonia_subcariosa_(EU).jpg, '' Cladonia subcariosa'' Cladonia_subtenuis_(EU).jpg, '' Cladonia subtenuis''

References

Anderson, R. (2009). ''Cladonia peziziformis'' (With.) J.R. Laundon (Lecanorales: Cladoniaceae) re-discovered in Co. Down. ''Ir. Nat. J.'' 30: 146. ---- Lecanorales genera Lichen genera Taxa described in 1756 {{Lecanorales-stub