Lichen: Peltigera praetextata
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Name: Peltigera praetextata (Flörke ex Sommerf.) Zopf
Pronunciation: Peltigera praetextata
Popular Name: Dog Lichen Body Type: Foliose
Conservation Evaluation: Least Concern
General Description: The thallus is large, round or irregular, typically 20 cm to 30 cm long. The lobes are narrower than Peltigera membranacea at 1 cm wide (max. at 1.5 cm); the margins are usually upturned, wavy or notched, but can be flat in some specimens. Colour varied, from slate-grey to reddish-brown, particularly at the margins; the reddish colour appears when the specimen is wet.
The lower surface is attached to the substrate centrally and is pale coloured with white or brown veins (check with a 10x hand lens). Rhizines are rather long at 4 mm to 6 mm and simple (not bottle-brush shaped as in P. membranacea).
Chemical Tests: None. No lichen substances.
Nature Notes: Frequently associated with mosses that help to keep them damp and hence metabolically active. Occur on rocks and trees.
Vice County distribution map of Acarospora fuscata: See Map
Link: Map this species on the Lichen Survey
Other species recorded in Ireland
- Peltigera britannica (Gyeln.) Holt.-Hartw. & Tønsberg
- Peltigera canina (L.) Willd.
- Peltigera collina (Ach.) Schrad.
- Peltigera degenii Gyeln.
- Peltigera didactyla (With.) J.R.Laundon
- Peltigera horizontalis (Huds.) Baumg.
- Peltigera hymenina (Ach.) Delise ex Duby
- Peltigera leucophlebia (Nyl.) Gyeln. [29]
- Peltigera malacea (Ach.) Funck
- Peltigera membranacea (Ach.) Nyl.
- Peltigera neckeri Hepp ex Müll.Arg.
- Peltigera polydactyla (Neck.) Hoffm.
- Peltigera rufescens (Weiss) Humb.
- Peltigera venosa (L.) Hoffm.
Text and images © Paul Whelan, 2009.