Hunting Cladonias: the Vivione Pass

During my lichenological explorations in the Val di Scalve valley (province of Bergamo, Lombardy) I visited several times one of its most beautiful localities: the Vivione Pass (Passo del Vivione), which connects the upper Val di Scalve with the upper Val Camonica (province of Brescia) by means of a breakneck road between Schilpario and Paisco Loveno.

The Pass is located in the southernmost outpost of the siliceous Orobic Alps, at the boundary with the calcareous Orobic Prealps. This is a land rich of traditions, legends and natural beauties; very hard not falling in love with it.

If you wish for an alpine atmosphere not too much difficult to reach, the Vivione Pass is the right place. The road is paved, and at the Pass a hut serves traditional mountain food (try the casoncelli, the typical Bergamasque ravioli flavoured with alm cheese).

Mountains, meadows, grazing cows, lively sheepdogs, sparkling breeze, clean air…and lichens, of course!

All the trails that start from the Vivione Pass are interesting for a lichenologist, but the first one I decided to try was the easiest one (you know, after a dish of casoncelli and a local schnapps…), that which brings to Malga Gaffione, on the other side of the glen formed by the stream coming down from the Valbona lake.

The surrounding landscape is stunning. The trail is very easy, and crosses an alpine pasture with scattered Rhododendron shrubs and larch trees.

And looking rigth under the shrubs at the edge of the trail…

…the first Cladonias start to appear!

Cladonia chlorophaea

Cladonia deformis

Cladonia coccifera

A nice bouquet of Cladonias, with Cladonia macroceras, Cladonia rangiferina and fertile podetia of Cladonia furcata

Cladonia arbuscula (right) and Cladonia rangiferina (left), the two most common and widespread Cladinas of the Alps

I was particularly happy to find out that one of those Cladonias was Cladonia grayi, a species of the former Cladonia chlorophaea complex (s. latiss.) characterized by grayanic acid, which had never been reported for Lombardy before (of course, I made up for this…[1]) and has a poorly known distribution in the whole of Italy.
Several podetia of it occurred right under Rhododendron shrubs on soil, together with other cup-shaped Cladonias.

Cladonia grayi

This is a wonderful place also for entomologists and macro-photographers: thank to the occurrence of a small alpine lake, a peat bog and wide alpine pastures, here you can find alpine dragonflies such as Somatochlora alpestris and Leucorrhinia dubia, and very beautiful and delicate high-altitude butterflies like Euphydryas glaciegenita, Coenonympha gardetta and Erebia pandrose.

Euphydryas glaciegenita ( = Euphydryas aurinia ssp glaciegenita)

Somatochlora alpestris

References

[1] Gheza G., Mayrhofer H. 2019. Cladonia grayi G.Merr. ex Sandst. (Cladoniaceae). In: Ravera S., Puglisi M., Vizzini A., Totti C., Aleffi M., Barberis G., Benesperi R., Brackel W.v., Dagnino D., De Giuseppe A.B., Fačkovcova Z., Gheza G., Giordani P., Guttova A., Mair P., Mayrhofer H., Nascimbene J., Nimis P.L., Paoli L., Passalacqua N.G., Pittao E., Poponessi S., Prosser F., Ottonello M., Puntillo D., Puntillo M., Sicoli G., Sguazzin F., Spitale D., Tratter W., Turcato C., Vallese C. 2019. Notulae to the Italian flora of Algae, Bryophytes, Fungi and Lichens 7. Italian Botanist 7: 69-91.

 

Merry Christmas…with Cladonias

Among the many utilizations of lichens contrived by humans, there is the use of fruticose lichens as ornaments in wreaths, festoons, floral compositions, and so on.
Another utilization of Cladonia lichens in particular is in model-making: the shrub-like thalli of Cladonia subgenus Cladina are in fact the perfect material to arrange tree miniatures, and they are commercialized from boreal regions under this precise purpose. The best one is the dome-like Cladonia stellaris, which is one of the most used also for other artifacts [1] (stabilized lichen panels for interior design, the dashboard of a brand new ecological car, and so on).
Cladonia subgenus Cladina is the only lichen taxon protected at European level under the Habitats Directive (Directive 1992/43/EEC) due to its economic importance and exploitation (in Annexe V: “species whose taking from the wild can be restricted by European law”).

Cladonia and Usnea lichens have been used sometimes also in nativity scenes (“presepi”), and so we did in our lab: having a plentiful provision of Cladonia, we used some podetia to decorate our tiny nativity – it seems quite like a silvery hedge covered in shiny ice. But don’t worry: it is simply the widespread Cladonia rangiformis, and not Cladonia stellaris, which is extremely rare and endangered here in Italy! [2] – furthermore, it is not stabilized but just dried, and it could be used for other things after the holidays…

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYBODY!

Notes
[1] Modenesi P. 2015. Il sapore e il colore dei licheni – una guida agli usi. Genova University Press, Genova, 157 pp.
[2] Ravera S., Isocrono D., Nascimbene J., Giordani P., Benesperi R., Tretiach M., Montagnani C. 2016. Assessment of the conservation status of the mat-forming lichens Cladonia subgenus Cladina in Italy. Plant Biosystems 150 (5): 1010-1022.

 

A happy Cladonia

I was checking a specimen of Cladonia cf. coccifera collected on the Alps during last summer under the stereomicroscope (the podetia in the image are about 5-6 mm tall) and I noticed that two podetia had the principle of a second inner row of pycnidia inside the scyphi.

And then I noticed that the one on the left looks quite like a crooked-smiling face.
Goodbye ‘scientificity’…

 

Welcome to Italy, Cladonia conista (and some corollaries)

Two Cladonias never found before in Italy have been discovered in one of the most human-impacted areas of the Country. Perhaps this should make us to think over the way in which not only lichens but all the biodiversity is [not enough] preserved in Italy…

The lichen flora of Italy earned two new species. In fact, while roaming the study sites for my PhD project, in the middle of the western Po Plain, I stumbled across two ‘unusual’ Cladonias which turned out to be two species never collected before in Italy: Cladonia conista and Cladonia pulvinata [1].

Cladonia conista in the morning light
Ticino River Natural Park

Cladonia conista belongs to a group of species which are extremely difficult to distinguish one from the other. This species complex was called in the past the “Cladonia chlorophaea complex”, but today we know that some of the species once placed there, albeit morphologically very similar, are not strictly related genetically with the proper “chlorophaea complex” [2]. However, I will call ‘chlorophaea complex s. lat.‘ all the ‘old group’ hereinafter.
The chlorophaea complex is a dobule issue: on one hand, all the species of this complex (s. lat.) are morphologically very similar, with greenish to greyish trumpet/goblet-shaped podetia; on the other hand, all these species have a huge morphological variability, and you can find podetia with very narrow and very broad cups within the same species – sometimes within the same lichen population in few square centimetres. In a nutshell: two equally large and visually identical cups could belong to different species as much as two very different cups could belong to the same species. Therefore, to identify those species, the study of secondary metabolites through thin-layer chromatography is always needed – and not always easy to interpret.
In Italy 7 species of che chlorophaea complex s. lat. have been recorded so far; but the problem is bigger, because many other species with cup-shaped podetia which occur in Italy can be very similar to these ones, especially when sterile; so we come to have nearly 20 species [2] that can be very difficult to distinguish from one another, especially for the beginners.
As you can image, the situation is quite intricate. The only revision of the chlorophaea complex s. lat. in Italy dates back to the mid 1980s [3], but surely since then much material which would need to be studied deeply has been collected.

A collage of four similar species with trumpet/goblet-shaped podetia:
C. conista, C. chlorophaea, C. fimbriata and C. pyxidata.
Now guess which one is which one!

The situation is less mazy in the “Cladonia cervicornis complex”, to which belongs Cladonia pulvinata. Among the three European species of the complex, C. pulvinata is the less prone to produce podetia, and in fact I found it only with the primary thallus so far.
When I saw it the first time I understood it was something new to me, but I had no clue about what I had under my nose. The strange squamules of C. pulvinata were mixed with podetia of C. coccifera, but luckily I had already enough experience with the latter to understand that they were two different things.
A TLC-interpretation session in Graz with professor Mayrhofer was fundamental to solve the mistery.

A nice patchwork of wet Cladonia pulvinata squamules and fertile C. coccifera podetia hidden under heather shrubs

Later on, I found that in that same site – a small but very beautiful heathland in the Ticino River Natural Park – occurred all the three species of the ‘cervicornis complex’ [4] – C. cervicornis, C. pulvinata and C. verticillata: such a mess! But luckily a very useful field key came in my rescue [5].

Cladonia pulvinata

I talked about Cladonias, but actually this post was not intended (only) as a mere announcement of the novelty of these two species to Italy, but also (and, perhaps, mainly) to highlight how this “discovery” can tell us at least three things which are extremely important at a general level:

1) Not all is lost! Who would have ever expected to come across two lichen species never found before in Italy precisely in the area that is the most human-impacted in Italy – the Po Plain – and, morever, a stone throw away from the main Northern-Italian airport and only few tens of kilometres from the centre of Milano!? Lichens are sensitive organisms, being very susceptible to pollution and environmental alterations caused by overly intensive human activities; consequently, this seems not exactly an optimal situation in which discover lichen species that sidestepped everyone so far.
Obviously, it must be said, these species do not occur everywhere: it is therefore of vital importance to preserve those habitats which still host them – in this particular case: acidic dry grasslands and open Calluna heathlands, which are in Europe habitats of community interest protected by the Habitats Directive (enlisted under the codes 6210 and 4030) and which are facing a dramatic decline in Italy [6].

2) These findings also tell us that there is still much work left to accomplish a full knowledge about Italian lichens. Just think over it: if we have two Cladonias new to Italy in the middle of the Po Plain, so what can there be in those still pristine remnants of Alps, of Appenines, of coasts!? In this perspective, the recent monumental checklist of Italian lichens is, as often said also by its author, not a point of arrival but a starting point.
But the issue is not limited to lichens: an oodles of other taxa that are – unluckily for them – not enough ‘mainstream’ in the scientific research are still waiting patiently someone who would study them more in deep, to allow a better and more realistic evaluation of the real overall biodiversity existing in Italy – a Country in which practically every year species new to science are still discovered and described [7].

3) The corollary which merges the two previous points is: how can we set conservation actions to safeguard what is left, if we don’t even know exactly what and how much there is left to conserve, which should be the basis of the whole thing!? It is right the time for Italy to actually begin to spend much more efforts to preserve the huge biodiversity it hosts; but in order to preserve it is necessary to manage, and in order to manage it is essential a basic knowledge about what and how to manage, that must be acquired appropriately through the work of trained (and appropriately paid) professional naturalists, and not at random and by blatantly taking advantage of the efforts by volunteers and enthusiasts.
It is a necessity that, now more than ever, is demanded loudly even by the so humble lichens.

A view of the “Brughiera di Gallarate” (Gallarate Heathland), which was extended for several square kilometres in the past, and is reduced nowadays to a fragment south of the Malpensa Airport.
How long will we be able to preserve such habitats – with all the biodiversity they host – within the most human-impacted area of Italy?

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Notes

[1] Gheza G., Nascimbene J., Mayrhofer H., Barcella M., Assini S. 2018. Two Cladonia species new to Italy from dry habitats in the Po Plain. Herzogia 31 (1): 293-303.

[2] The species of the ‘chlorophaea complex’ – intended in a broad sense – occurring in Italy are C. chlorophaea, C. cryptochlorophaea, C. merochlorophaea, C. grayi, C. humilis, C. perlomera and, now, C. conista. We can complicate the issue adding C. fimbriata, a very common and widespread species which (theoretically) has very narrow cups that (theoretically) should allow to distinguish it from C. chlorophaea s. lat. (theoretically). We can add also the problematic duo C. pyxidata–C. pocillum, with cup-shaped podetia as well, that can be distinguished thank to the absence of soredia and the presence of schizidia; but schizidia can be very variable. And we can add also the species of the “Cladonia coccifera complex”, that can be mistaken with the previous species when lacking the characteristic scarlet-red fruiting bodies. Not to mention the much rarer but equally similar and mistakable C. carneola, C. cyathomorpha, C. monomorpha…

[3] Coassini-Lokar L., Nimis P.L., Ciconi G. 1986. Chemistry and chorology of the Cladonia chlorophaea-pyxidata complex (Lichenes, Cladoniaceae) in Italy. Webbia 39 (2): 259-273.

[4] Gheza G. 2018. Addenda to the lichen flora of the Ticino river valley (western Po Plain). Natural History Sciences 5 (2): 33-40.

[5] Herk K.v., Aptroot A. 2003. A new status for the Western European taxa of the Cladonia cervicornis group. Bibliotheca Lichenologica 86: 193-203.

[6] Genovesi P., Angelini P., Bianchi E., Dupré E., Ercole S., Giacanelli V., Ronchi F., Stoch F. 2014. Specie e habitat di interesse comunitario in Italia: distribuzione, stato di conservazione e trend. Serie Rapporti 194/2014. ISPRA, Roma, 330 pp.

[7] Just think about the two most striking recent cases: Vipera walser (an adder endemic of a valley in the western Italian Alps) and Sciurus meridionalis (a black squirrel endemic of the southernmost Italy). The discovery of two Vertebrates (the most studied taxon) new to science in Europe (the most studied continent) in the XXI century has almost the taste of sci-fi…still, it really happened. And right in Italy.
Even if, it must be said, most of the new species recently discovered in Italy are of course small Invertebrates – generally belonging to overlooked Insect taxa studied only by few extremely specialized entomologists.

 

Hunting Cladonias: the Diga del Gleno trail

The “Diga del Gleno” (Gleno Dam) is sadly notorious for having been the first great dam disaster in Italy. In the early morning of 1st December 1923, the central part of the dam collapsed and the flood that came out ravaged the lower Val di Scalve valley to end its savage run in the Iseo Lake, after have overrun also a part of the lower Val Camonica. The victims were estimated to be between 360 and 400, and the real causes of this disaster are still somewhat unclear after 95 years.

The Gleno Dam at the end of its construction, in summer 1923.
It only lasted 4 months before the collapse of the central part.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.

At present, the ruins of the dam are the destination of an easy and very panoramic trail that starts in Pianezza, a hamlet of Vilminore di Scalve, which is one of the four municipalities that constitute the Val di Scalve, a small valley lateral to the lower Val Camonica which belongs to the province of Bergamo and covers an area ranging from the calcareous Orobic Prealps to the crystalline Orobic Alps.
I went across this trail only once before, when I was just a little boy, almost twenty years ago, so I decided to go back there, the last weekend, to explore this promising area under a lichenological perspective…and I wasn’t disapponted!

A panoramic view on the easternmost Orobic Prealps from the very first part of the trail, just above Pianezza. The view ranges from the Pizzo Camino, on the far left, to the towering massif of the Mount Presolana, the “Queen of the Orobies”, on the central-right part.

The trail, marked with n.411, starts behind the little church of Pianezza, at 1267 m a.s.l., and at the beginning you have to climb some stone steps in a picturesque narrow alley, with the impression that the trail is driving you into some mountaineer’s backyard rather than on the mountains. But soon you pop out in the meadows overhanging the village, and the view is already spectacular.

The Pizzo Camino Group.

The Presolana.

After a short but steep stairway of earth and stone, the trail dives into a shady and cool spruce wood. Here the Cladonias at the edge of the footpath are not particularly interesting, and mostly reduced to mats of squamules of Cladonia coniocraea, Cladonia pyxidata and Cladonia caespiticia. Also some podetia of the very common Cladonia furcata appear here and there among the mosses.

After some uphill (we are now at about 1450 m of altitude), the wood thins and some larches and mountain pines appear. In some clearings near the trail, in the best-exposed positions, a dry heath vegetation with Molinia, Vaccinium sp. pl. and Erica carnea is developed (we are on a south-facing slope), and, where acidic rock outcrops and mineral soil occur, some other Cladonias peep out.

Some Cladonias from the aforementioned heath-like vegetation.
I’m afraid I would need TLC…

Then, at the very edge of the trail, a handful of tiny red points catches my attention. I climb on the raised edge of the footpath and – carefully avoiding to trample all the lichens I have just spotted – I lay down to watch and photograph a lilliputian grove of fertile Cladonia floerkeana podetia. In the nearest surroundings, a proper heath lichen vegetation is developed, with Cladonia coccifera, Cladonia pleurota, Cladonia chlorophaea s. latiss. and florid cushions of Cladonia rangiferina.

Cladonia floerkeana

Lichen vegetation dominated by Cladonia pleurota and Cladonia floerkeana

Cladonia rangiferina

A little further on, the trail becomes almost flat and the wood opens at the incoming of rocky walls overhanging on the footpath, which is in some points carved directly inside the rock.
Here the rock is siliceous, and probably acidic. In many points beneath the rock vault there is a copious water drip (after all, at this altitude we are still in the thaw season), and the topsoil in the rock crevices and some mosses are covered with scabrous squamulose podetia of a strange Cladonia which is probably Cladonia squamosa (but I still have to check it carefully). It covers quite wide extensions in humid and sheltered positions in this particular bryophyte-rich microhabitat.

The dipping rock vault above this part of the trail. Here the view is increasingly spectacular and not recommended for those suffering from vertigo, since the trail overhangs the narrow and steep glen of the Povo stream.

Cladonia cf. squamosa.

Even further ahead, in a more enlightened position, some other Cladonias appear on the dipping rock walls, and – big surprise! – also some small thalli of Sphaerophorus fragilis claim their part of my attention for some photos.

Squamules, rachitic podetia and reddish apothecia.

Sphaerophorus fragilis.

After a little more walking and a dizzy ford – one could ask why on Earth almost all the trail is flanked by parapets…except in the point where it is most needed!? – the majestic ruins of the dam appear on the other side of the glen, announcing that the arrival is near.

The ruins of the Gleno Dam.

There, even with my scarce knowledge of geology, I notice that the rock type has changed. Mainly thank to the almost completely different lichen flora on it – for example, Dermatocarpon has replaced Umbilicaria while Rhizocarpon geographicum disappeared and Rusavskia elegans appeared – but also thank to colour and texture of the rock.
This seems to be a calcareous rock, and in fact, when I am almost arrived at the dam, I notice the typical rosulate thalli of Cladonia pocillum, a typically calcicole species, on the mosses and the rocky debris in the crevices of the rock.

A manual case of Cladonia pocillum, with rosulate primary thallus and schizidiate podetia.

I have the time for a fast snack on the shore of the cold alpine lake delimited by the survived lower part of the dam (1534 m a.s.l.), under the massive arches of the upper part, before went back to Pianezza.
Snow still hinders to venture much beyond here on the trail which drives to Mount Gleno: I will leave it for this summer…

Photographing Cladonias.
In the distant background, the Queen spires, still covered with snow.

 

Cladonia pseudopityrea

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Cladonia pseudopityrea
Vainio
1887
Acta Societatis pro Fauna et Flora Fennica 4: 452

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E t y m o l o g y
Pseudo-pityrea means literally “similar to [Cladonia] pityrea“, which was the name of Cladonia ramulosa at the time in which Vainio described the new species, due to the similarity of these two species.

D e s c r i p t i o n
Primary thallus persistent, made of small (1-5 x 2-3 mm) squamules, with crenulate or incised margin, granulose on the upper side and arachnoid on the lower side, glaucous-green to pale brownish, forming dense mats.
Podetia glaucous-green, to 3 cm tall (often shorter), partly corticated and partly decorticated, granulose-squamulose, rarely sorediate, slender, generally simple and not or little branched towards the top but sometimes scyphipherous, arising from the center or the margin of inflated primary squamules (“phyllopodiate” podetia).
Apothecia pale brown, convex, at the top of the podetia or on the edges of the scyphi.
Pycnidia dark brown, immersed, on the primary squamules or (rarely) on the podetia.

A specimen showing the primary thallus, with most squamules dissolved into granules, and the great variability in the shape of the podetia.

C h e m i s t r y
Metabolites: fumarprotocetraric acid; occasionally also confumarprotocetraric, hipoprotocetraric and/or protocetraric acids [2].
Spot-tests: K–, C–, KC–, P+ red, UV–.

S i m i l a r   s p e c i e s
Cladonia ramulosa is in some cases very similar and has the same chemistry, but, being very polymorphic, it can also look very different; its podetia are often almost completely corticated and have cups more frequently. Furthermore, in Cladonia ramulosa pycnidia are generally on the edge of the cups, whereas in Cladonia pseudopityrea they are located mostly on the primary squamules, and only rarely on the podetia.
Cladonia botrytes is a tiny species which can also look similar, but its podetia are fully corticated, have generally some branches and bigger apothecia which are pinkish instead of brown. Furthermore, it has a different chemistry (KC+ yellow, P–; usnic and squamatic acids) and is a boreal / montane-subalpine species, whereas Cladonia pseudopityrea has a mediterranean-montane distribution.

Schematic drawing showing the main morphological differences
between C. pseudopityrea and C. botrytes.

S u b s t r a t e
Dead wood, especially of Abies, Fagus, Olea, Pinus. Occasionally also soil rich in humus [2, 4].
In Italy it has been reported on bark, wood and epiphytic mosses on Abies alba, Fagus sylvatica, Juniperus oxycedrus, Pinus laricio and Pinus pinaster and on siliceous soil [see literature cited by 4].

H a b i t a t
Woodlands, especially near creeks and/or in situations with high humidity [1, 2, 4].

D i s t r i b u t i o n
Geographical: reported mainly from Mediterranean countries (Spain, Italy, Greece), and with two outlying records in Switzerland. In Italy it was reported from Sardegna and Calabria [4].
Altitudinal: from the mediterranean to the mediterranean-montane belt [4]. The altitudinal range in Italy is between 500-1500 m a.s.l. [see literature cited by 4].
Chorology: temperate-mediterranean, with subatlantic affinity [2].

N o t e s
Described by Vainio on a specimen from Corsica [6].
It is considered a rare species [1, 4], even if its status towards Cladonia ramulosa is still an open question [1, 2].
It was assessed in the Red List of Italian Epiphytic Lichens as EN (endangered) [3] and is considered as CR (critically endangered) in France [5].

Details of some podetia.

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I thank Mauro Ottonello, who provided the specimen featured in the photos, prof. Helmut Mayrhofer, who helped me in determining it, and prof. Teuvo Ahti, who checked it and confirmed its identity.

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S e l e c t e d   r e f e r e n c e s
[1] Ahti T. & Puntillo D. 1995. The status of Cladonia pseudopityrea, an overlooked Mediterranean lichen. In: Daniëls F.J.A., Schulz M. & Peine J. (eds.). Flechten Follmann – Contributions to lichenology in honour of Gerhard Follmann. Botanical Institute, University of Cologne, Cologne. 155-160.
[2] Burgaz A.R. & Ahti T. 2009. Cladoniaceae – Flora Liquenologica Iberica 4. Sociedad Espanola de Liquenologia. 112 pp.
[3] Nascimbene J., Nimis P.L. & Ravera S. 2013. Evaluating the conservation status of epiphytic lichens of Italy: a Red List. Plant Biosystems 147 (4): 898-904.
[4] Nimis P.L. 2016. The Lichens of Italy – a second annotated catalogue. EUT, Edizioni Università di Trieste, Trieste. 704 pp.
[5] Roux C. et al. 2017. Catalogue des lichéns et champignons lichénicoles de France métropolitaine. 2e édition. Association Francaise de Lichenologie, Fontainebleau. 1581 pp.
[6] Vainio E.A. 1887. Monographia Cladoniarum Universalis – Pars I. Acta Societatis pro Fauna et Flora Fennica 4: 1-509.

 

KYC: Cladonia vs Baeomyces

Perhaps it could seem odd to skilled lichenologists, but it can not always be easy, for the beginners, to understand the difference between Baeomyces s. lat. and the tiny podetia of the shy Cladonia peziziformis, at least at a first glance.

At my very first encounter with Cladonia peziziformis I was rather dubious whether I had under my nose a Cladonia or a Baeomyces; in hindsight, squamules are rather evident and apothecia are not Baeomyces-pink, however I would not take this difference always for granted, with beginners.

But this possibility of confusion is not that silly.
In early times of lichenology, due to some morphologic similarities, Cladonias have been placed in the genus Baeomyces. For example, the original name of Cladonia caespiticia was Baeomyces caespiticius, and the pale and sessile or shortly-stalked apothecia of this species can sometimes remind of proper Baeomyces, except of course for the squamulose primary thallus. The speech is very different when we consider other species (e.g. Baeomyces cenoteus, Baeomyces pocillum, Baeomyces strepsilis, and so on), because of the podetia and, again, the clearly squamulose primary thallus, which is very different from the crustose or lobed primary thalli of the European Baeomyces species.

At present days, we know better that Cladonia and Baeomyces are not so strictly related to one another, but, as said before, the problem could appear on the field with few species, e.g. Cladonia peziziformis, which has short, simple and capitate podetia – resembling tiny mushrooms, which worthed the name peziziformis, as well as Baeomyces – and an inconspicuous primary thallus.

Well-developed Cladonia peziziformis is well distinguished from Baeomyces sp. pl.

The main difference is that Cladonias which could be mistaken for Baeomyces have a squamulose primary thallus. Squamules can be wide or tiny, flat or convex, curled or not, but in any case they are evident – podetia of Cladonias without primary thallus, e.g. subgenus Cladina, can not be confused with Baeomyces.
The primary thallus of Baeomyces – and of Dibaeis baeomyces (aka Baeomyces roseus), let’s include it too in this discussion – is clearly crustose: sometimes smooth, sometimes granulose, but however crustose. In Europe, the exception is Baeomyces placophyllus, which has, when well-developed, a primary thallus with distinct lobes and sometimes with sparse microsquamules on it.

Another remarkable difference is that Cladonia has apothecia borne by true podetia, which are lichenized (provided with algal cells), often corticated and hollow structures, while in Baeomyces apothecia are borne by simple stalks, which are not always lichenized.

Baeomyces rufus with its crustose primary thallus, non-lichenized stalks and pink apothecia

If it is not enough, we can notice that apothecia are pink, pinkish or brownish-pink in Baeomyces (pink in Dibaeis) and red or brown in Cladonia. Of course there are exceptions: in fact, the brown in the brown-fruited Cladonias can be sometimes very pale, especially when the lichens are wet; thus, species like C. peziziformis or C. caespiticia could be confusing for beginners (see the first photo in this post…).

I hope that this post could be useful to approach and solve this “doubt” on the field, if ever met.

Schematical draw of the most widespread European species of Baeomyces and Dibaeis compared with Cladonia peziziformis, highlighting the most striking diagnostic features

 

KYC: Know your Cladonias!

Introduction
This is a short introduction to a sort of a series of posts whose realization was one of the reasons I started this blog.
“Know your Cladonias” – aka KYC – is meant as a sort of illustrated field guide to these tricky lichens, as far as possible.
The KYC post series is aimed at comparing similar species through simple drawings which highlight the most diagnostic characters to discriminate one species from another. It goes without saying that I shall treat only those species I had occasion to know by first-hand – but, knowing the biblical timespans I need for writing and drawing, the number of these species is likely to increase while I go on with the series.
My drawings are very schematical – a bit because they have to be simple to make their goal…and a bit because I am not so much skilled at drawing and, mostly, colouring – aiming at showing the most striking characteristics which can be useful on the field to differentiate one species from another.
But, as you know, morphology is often insufficient to identify Cladonias; therefore, also spot-test outcomes and chemistry (secondary metabolites) will often be reported in the drawings, when needed.
And, when possible, I shall include also a simplified key to the treated species and to similar ones.
I hope this series can be useful to those who need further tools to deal with these tricky but marvelous lichens.

As an example of what I mean, here is a rough colour sketch with the comparison of 4 species which can have ± capitate podetia.
Here it is easy, since I chose four species which are well differentiated between them morphologically; next issues of KYC will probably be less easygoing.
And draws of the proper KYC series will be quite better, I promise – this was just to give the idea.

How to read the spot-test schemes
Spot-test reactions are illustrated by schemes placed near the drawings of the taxa. The caption below shows how to read them.
The reactions depend on the secondary metabolites contained within the thallus, but not all these substances are detectable through mere spot-tests; e.g. fumarprotocetraric acid gives a P+ red reaction, but grayanic acid gives no reaction, therefore if you want to discriminate between C. chlorophaea (only fumarprotocetraric acid) and C. grayi (fumarprotocetraric and grayanic acid or only grayanic acid) the spot-test with P is no sufficient and you need TLC.
Due to the chemical variability of Cladonia, for some taxa more than one reaction is possible, and therefore all the possibilities are shown, because, especially if you lack the TLC output, you need to know all of them.

 

 

Some days in Graz

In a freezing air, under a snow-bearing sky, the building of the Botanical Garden where the offices and laboratories of the Grazer lichenologists and the Lichen Herbarium are located silently emerges from the trees.

From 26th February to 1st March I spent some days in the Plant Sciences Institute of the Karl-Franzens University of Graz in order to identify some dozens of tricky Cladonia specimens under the supervision and with the help of professor Helmut Mayrhofer, who kindly hosted me there.

The case wanted that week to be the coldest one of this winter in Italy, so you can imagine what it has been in Austria, especially on the Alps, that I went across travelling by car – a car overflowing with lichen specimens – together with Juri Nascimbene. The motorway was surrounded by a frozen landscape reminding the opening of “The Fearless Vampire Killers” – also the situation was similar, with an academic travelling with his student towards the heart of Europe for their research, but, unfortunately, with no red-headed girls to rescue at the end of our trip.

Crossing Kärnten and Steiermark on a motorway that can show so picturesque landscapes.

We arrived in the beautiful Graz under a snow-heavy sky, but temperature was too cold (–8°C!, but we reached –16°C one of the following nights) to have snowfall. Some snow fell only in the warmest – or should I say less cold – hours of the afternoon, while I was preparing the material for TLCs.

The main aim of the visit was precisely the identification of my specimens.
Dubious Cladonia specimens require TLC – thin-layer chromatography – to identify the secondary metabolites which allow to discriminate one species from another when morphology and spot-tests are not enough.

Some TLC plates. The position and the colour of the spots should allow to identify the coumpound(s) present in the specimens. In theory.

I have no possibility to carry out TLCs in my lab in Pavia, but, even if I had, I would have no availability of skilled lichenologists to help me reading and interpreting them (…it seems I am nowadays the only one who studies lichens for his job in the whole Lombardy…sooo sad!).
Professor Mayrhofer was so kind to accept the challenge, and therefore, in the following days, we worked together on my specimens in a whirl of pages of identification keys written in almost half of the European languages.

A tricky specimen. One of the many.

The other aim of my visit was consulting the lichen collection of GZU – the Herbarium of the Plant Sciences Institute, which is an international reference for lichenologists – to make comparations with my specimens, not only the ones I had with me to determine, but also to check species I have a weak knowledge of.
The lichen collection of GZU is huge (about 190.000 specimens!), and includes specimens from all around the world. Of course, many Central-European species can rely on several specimens collected directly in Austria, but also other Countries are very well represented.

Dozens of shelves full of Cladonias from all around the world. I could bury myself inside here for months!

Those who have nothing to do with botany probably underestimate the usefulness of herbaria. Most people figures the thing as nothing more than an album of dried and pressed vegetables, but, of course, for botanists herbaria are a quite different thing. “Herbaria are not repositories of plant corpses, but fundamental research tools” thundered professor Nimis (1989) in a rebuke against the carelessness in which Italian lichen herbaria were abandoned in the late 1980s. And it is true: they are indispensable working tools which can fully occupy enormous rooms.

Herbarium specimens are the evidence that a species was collected in that place and in that time, with all the following implications in case of distribution studies; but they are also the evidence of the occurrence of that species, which can be checked in case of taxonomical revisions. They can also provide material for genetic analyses, when – often – time and money for collecting fresh specimens lack. And, most of all, they are a fundamental reference for those who need to check their identifications comparing their own material – those like me, in this case.

Of course, to be actually useful the collections must be preserved carefully. The curator of a herbarium should take in account several non-trivial things (see Obermayer 2002), but it should be noted that for a brilliant mind also some hitches can become opportunities (see Nimis & Skert 2006).

Some highly diagnostic herbarium specimens:

fertile podetia of Cladonia deformis

a very well-prepared Cladonia botrytes

This (alas!, too short) immersion in one of the best-equipped lichen herbaria of Europe was enormously useful to me. I had the chance to check hundreds of specimens including Cladonias I never saw before, allowing me to better understand them than by using mere written descriptions or photographs. Which is precisely one of the aims of a herbarium.

And, while I am working in the herbarium for the last time…

…squirrels jump from tree to tree just out of my window.

I deeply thank professor Helmut Mayrhofer for his hospitality and his help (and his patience, towards my tricky specimens…but also towards me and my questions!), and Astrid Scharfetter, who was able to turn my disjointed English babble into a very nice caption on the GZU guestbook (and also mentioned this very blog in it by herself!); I sincerely thank also the friend Juri Nascimbene, who made all this possible.

I gladly left to GZU two of my best specimens of Cladonia acuminata (left) and Cladonia deformis (right). It was a honour, because there they can be useful, so far better there than in a private herbarium! – However, I kept for myself smaller duplicates, because also a private herbarium can be useul for the owner!

And if you are wondering what it came out of my struggle with those tricky specimens…well, stay tuned and someday you will find it out here on Cladoniarium!

References
Nimis P.L. 1989. Nota (molto) critica su degli erbari lichenologici italiani. Notiziario della Società Lichenologica Italiana 2: 36-37.
Nimis P.L. & Skert N. 2006. Lichen chemistry and selective grazing by the coleopteran Lasioderma serricorne. Environmental and Experimental Botany 55 (1-2): 175-182.
Obermayer W. 2002. Management of a Lichen Herbarium. In: Kranner et al. (eds.). Protocols in Lichenology. Springer. Berlin, Heidelberg. 507-523.

With the sun brightening the colours of the manors near the Botanical Garden and freshly fallen snow all around, it looks like a beautiful vintage postcard.

Korstmossen van duin, heide en stuifzand (book review)

Veldgids Korstmossen van duin, heide en stuifzand
(Field guide to the lichens of dunes, heaths and drift sands)

This field guide deals with the terricolous lichens most commonly occurring in open dry habitats of the Netherlands and, by extension, of Central Europe.
When I was planning my PhD about terricolous lichens of Italian inland sand dunes, dry grasslands and heathlands, I was enthusiastic about the mere existence of such a handbook, including the precise habitats I was going to study. I purchased this book without hesitation and luckily, when it was finally delivered, it did not disappoint me, quite the opposite.

The book is divided in two main parts.
The introductive part provides a synthetic overview on lichens and on the habitats considered in the field guide – it was a sensation to see the page with photos of the Dutch habitats…looking exactly the same than the habitats in my Italian study areas: it means we still have some representative fragments of them also here in Italy!
Then, clear keys to the species of Cladonia and Peltigera occurring in the Netherlands are reported. All the Dutch species of these two genera were included, even the ones which are not frequently found in the considered habitats.
The second part shows double-page species sheets in which each species is treated with complete texts and exhaustive iconography. Texts include indications to distinguish each species from the most similar ones. Photos are very good, and there are also several fine line-drawings taken by “De Nederlandse Cladonia’s” – a mythical publication I must find, before or after. Overall, 66 species are treated.

The main obstacle – to me, but probably to someone else too – is that the book is written in Dutch. I do not speak Dutch, therefore I had to translate word by word the parts which interested me the most (e.g. the keys – but not only). Of course, this is a deficiency of the reader, and not of the book.

This guide is a little gem in my opinion: texts are exhaustive, photos are very beautiful and diagnostic – with the limits that lichen photos usually have: during my fieldwork I met specimens of the same species which looked quite different, but any lichenologist knows that Cladonias are extremely variable –, the layout is very elegant and, last but not least, being a proper field guide the book has a handy pocket size.
It is something you do not see every day, at least here in Italy!

What better place than the lichen-richest heathland of the Po Plain to test this book!?

Veldgids Korstmossen van duin, heide en stuifzand
Aptroot A., van Herk K. & Sparrius L. 2011.
Bryologische & Lichenologische Werkgroep van de KNNV. 158 pp.