''Ramboldia blastidiata'' is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) and

crustose lichen Crustose lichens are lichens that form a crust which strongly adheres to the Substrate (biology), substrate (soil, rock, tree bark, etc.), making separation from the substrate impossible without destruction. The basic structure of crustose lichen ...

in the family

Lecanoraceae The Lecanoraceae are a family of lichenized fungi in the order Lecanorales. Species of this family have a widespread distribution. Taxonomy Lecanoraceae was circumscribed by German lichenologist Gustav Wilhelm Körber in 1855. Genera According ...

. Found in Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 2007 by lichenologists

Gintaras Kantvilas Gintaras Kantvilas (born 1956) is an Australian lichenologist, who earned his Ph.D in 1985 from the University of Tasmania with a thesis entitled ''Studies on Tasmanian rainforest lichens''. He has authored over 432 species names, and 167 gener ...

and John Elix. The

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

was collected by the first author from the western slopes of Strzelecki Peaks on Flinders Island (

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

) at an altitude of ; here, in dry

sclerophyll forest Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

, it was found growing on a

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

boulder. The lichen forms pale grey-green, olive-green to dull olive-brown crust-like patches up to wide. The authors suggest that it is widespread in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

Australia and Tasmania, but not commonly collected. Others saxicolous lichens that it usually grows with include '' Ramboldia petraeoides'', '' Lecanora farinacea'', '' Xanthoparmelia mougeotina'', and species from the genera '' Buellia'' and '' Rhizocarpon''. 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 ...

''blastidiata'' refers to the presence of blastidia, which are vegetative

propagule In biology, a propagule is any material that functions in propagating an organism to the next stage in its life cycle, such as by dispersal. The propagule is usually distinct in form from the parent organism. Propagules are produced by organisms ...

s that contain

mycobiont A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.photobiont A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.budding Budding or blastogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction in which a new organism develops from an outgrowth or bud due to cell division at one particular site. For example, the small bulb-like projection coming out from the yeast cell is know ...

References

Lecanorales Lichen species Lichens described in 2007 Lichens of Australia Taxa named by John Alan Elix Taxa named by Gintaras Kantvilas {{Lecanorales-stub