Egg-yolk Lichen
Candelariella vitellina (Hoffm.) Mull. Arg.
Egg-yolk Lichen: https://marylandbiodiversity.org/species/4587
Synonyms
Common Goldspeck Lichen 
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20 Records

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Source: Wikipedia

Candelariella vitellina
Candelariella vitellina on granite,
magnification 30x
Secure
Secure (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Candelariomycetes
Order: Candelariales
Family: Candelariaceae
Genus: Candelariella
Species:
C. vitellina
Binomial name
Candelariella vitellina
(Ehrh.) Müll.Arg. (1894)
Synonyms
  • Lichen vitellinus Ehrh. (1785)
  • Patellaria vitellina Hoffm. (1794)

Candelariella vitellina is a common and widespread green-yellow to orange-yellow crustose areolate lichen that grows on rock, wood, and bark, all over the world.[2] It grows on non-calcareous rock, wood, and bark.[2]

Taxonomy

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The taxon Candelariella vitellina var. mendozae, proposed by Finnish lichenologist Veli Räsänen in 1941,[3] was promoted to distinct species status, Placomaronea mendozae, in 2004.[4]

Description

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Candelariella vitellina often has tiny lobate areoles in the shape of lion claws.[2] The areoles may be flat or convex.[2] Its sexual reproductive structures (apothecia) are a 0.35–1.0 mm-wide disc, darker yellow than the thallus, rimmed with thallus-like tissue (lecanorine), flat but becoming convex with age.[2] The results of lichen spot tests are K+ reddish, KC−, and C−.[2] It produces calycin, pulvinic acid, pulvinic dilactone and vulpinic acid as secondary metabolites.[2]

Candelariella vitellina looks like a miniature version of C. rosulans.[2] It can be distinguished by C. vitanela having a visible exciple (the rim around the apothecia disc), which C. rosulans does not have.[2] It is usually much larger and thicker than the similar C. lutella.[2]

Habitat and distribution

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In California, it prefers growing on granite, but can also be found on wood (rarely on bark) and other kinds of rock.[5]: 251 

Species interactions

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It is a known host to the lichenicolous fungus species Carbonea vitellinaria.[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ NatureServe. "Candelariella vitellina". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 2, Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bugartz, F., (eds.) 2001, [1]
  3. ^ Räsänen, V. (1941). "La flora liquenologica de Mendoza (Argentina)" (PDF). Anales de la Sociedad Científica Argentina, Buenos Aires E III. 131: 97–110 [100].
  4. ^ Westberg, M. (2004). "Placomaronea". In Nash III, T.H.; Ryan, B.D.; Diederich, P.; Gries, C.; Bungartz, F. (eds.). Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol. 2. Tempe, Arizona: Lichens Unlimited, Arizona State University. p. 419. ISBN 978-0-9716759-1-9.
  5. ^ Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-19500-2
  6. ^ Brackel, Wolfgang von (2011). "Lichenopeltella rangiferinae sp. nov. and some other lichenicolous fungi from Iceland" (PDF). Acta Botanica Islandica. 15: 51–60.
  7. ^ Alstrup, V.; Olech, M.; Wietrzyk-Pelka, P.; Wegrzyn, M. H. (2018). "The lichenicolous fungi of the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica: species diversity and identification guide". Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. 87 (4): 3607. doi:10.5586/asbp.3607.