''Multiclavula caput-serpentis'' is a species of

terricolous A terricolous lichen is a lichen that grows on the soil as a substrate. Examples include some members of the genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classificati ...

(ground-dwelling)

basidiolichen Basidiolichens are lichenized members of the Division (taxonomy), division Basidiomycota within the subkingdom Dikarya of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Fungus, Fungi. They form a diverse yet much smaller group of lichens than the far more commo ...

in the family

Hydnaceae The Hydnaceae are a family of fungi in the order Cantharellales. Originally the family encompassed all species of fungi that produced basidiocarps (fruit bodies) having a hymenium (spore-bearing surface) consisting of slender, downward-hanging ta ...

. Found in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, it was

formally described A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differ ...

as a new species in 2021 by Hermine Lotz-Winter and Kai Reschke. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

was collected between Cerro Punta and Bajo Boquete ( Sendero Los Quetzales,

Chiriquí Province Chiriquí () is a province of Panama located on the western coast; it is the second most developed province in the country, after Panamá Province. Its capital is the city of David. It has a total area of 6,490.9 km2, with a population of 47 ...

) at an elevation of ; here, in a

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...

on the north slopes of the

Volcán Barú The Volcán Barú (also Volcán de Chiriquí) is an active stratovolcano and the tallest mountain in Panama, at high. It lies about off the border of Costa Rica. It is also the twelfth highest peak in Central America. Due to its height and the ...

, it was found growing on moist, loamy soil. The

species epithet Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany) ...

, which combines the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

roots ''caput'' ("head") and ''serpens'' ("snake"), alludes to the shape of the fruitbodies.

References

Hydnaceae Lichen species Lichens described in 2021 Lichens of Central America Basidiolichens {{Agaricomycetes-stub