''Sticta harrisii'' is a species of foliose lichen in the family Peltigeraceae. Found in Puerto Rico, it was formally described as a new species in 2020 by Joel Mercado‐Díaz, Bibiana Moncada, and

Robert Lücking Robert Lücking (born 1964) is a German lichenologist. He is a leading expert on foliicolous lichens–lichens that live on leaves. Life and career Born in Ulm in 1964, Lücking earned both his master's (1990) and PhD degree (1994) at the Univer ...

The type specimen was collected by the first author in El Yunque National Forest. The lichen is only known to occur in high-elevation forests at this location and also in

Carite State Forest Carite State Forest (Spanish: ''Bosque Estatal de Carite'') is a state forest and nature reserve located in the Sierra de Cayey mountain range in southeastern Puerto Rico. The forest extends over approximately 6,500 acres and is located in the mu ...

, where it typically grows as an

epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

on '' Heterotrichum cymosum'', ''

Cecropia schreberian ''Cecropia'' is a Neotropical genus consisting of 61 recognized species with a highly distinctive lineage of dioecious trees. The genus consists of pioneer trees in the more or less humid parts of the Neotropics, with the majority of the spec ...

'', vines, ferns, and occasionally on rocks. 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 ...

''harrisii'' honours lichenologist Richard C. Harris, "who prepared the first formal taxonomic treatment of lichens for the island and the first key to species of ''Sticta'' in Puerto Rico".

References

harrisii Lichen species Lichens described in 2020 Lichens of the Caribbean Taxa named by Robert Lücking {{Peltigerales-stub