Lipstick Powderhorn
Cladonia macilenta Hoffm.
Lipstick Powderhorn: https://marylandbiodiversity.org/species/4615
Synonyms
Scarlet Pin Lichen 
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48 Records

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Source: Wikipedia

Cladonia macilenta
Secure
Secure (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Lecanorales
Family: Cladoniaceae
Genus: Cladonia
Species:
C. macilenta
Binomial name
Cladonia macilenta
Hoffm. (1796)
Synonyms
  • Cladonia bacillaris f. subscyphifera (Vain.) Sandst.
  • Cladonia coccifera f. macilenta (Hoffm.) Mudd
  • Cladonia macilenta subf. rubiformis (Rabenh.) M.Choisy
  • Cladonia coccifera scabrosa Mudd
  • Cladonia bacillaris subscyphifera Vain.
  • Cladonia macilenta var. flabellulata Müll.Arg.
  • Cladonia cylindrica var. squamigera (Vain.) M.Choisy
  • Cladonia digitata var. macilenta (Hoffm.) Leight.
  • Cladonia macilenta var. squamigera Vain.
  • Cladonia cylindrica var. vermicularis (Rabenh.) M.Choisy
  • Cladonia brebissonii var. ostreata (Nyl.) M.Choisy
  • Verrucaster lichenicola Tobler (1912)

Cladonia macilenta or the lipstick cup lichen[2] is a species of cup lichen in the family Cladoniaceae.[3]

The species is red listed in Iceland as an endangered species (EN).[4] While it is found in various regions of the UK, it is considered potentially threatened in parts of the lowlands due to habitat loss.[5]

Verrucaster lichenicola, described by Friedrich Tobler in 1913,[6] was proposed to be a fungus with waxy pycnidia and hyaline conidia lacking septa. It was, however, a little-known taxon, as the type specimen was lost and not collected again. The rediscovery of the type material more than a century later revealed that what Tobler thought to be a lichenicolous fungus was instead pycnidia of Cladonia macilenta, and thus the two taxa are placed in synonymy.[7]

Description

[edit]

Cladonia macilenta is small- to medium-sized amongst other Cladonia species and lacks cups even at maturity.[5] It is often mistaken for Cladonia polydactyla,[5] because some morphs of that species can lack cups, particularly when pollution-stressed, shaded, or juvenile. But C. macilenta can be differentiated by coloration (C. macilenta is typically white or grey, while C. polydactyla is typically blue-grey) or by the reproductive structures (soredia) which are granular in C. polydactyla and more mealy (farinose) in C. macilenta.[5]

Habitat and distribution

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Typically, Cladonia macilenta is found in open or well-lit wooded areas and heathlands growing on strongly acidic wood and soil.[5] In Nepal, the lichen has been reported from 1,500 to 3,800 m elevation in a compilation of published records.[8]

References

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  1. ^ NatureServe. "Cladonia macilenta". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  2. ^ "Standardized Common Names for Wild Species in Canada". National General Status Working Group. 2020.
  3. ^ "Cladonia macilenta Hoffm". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  4. ^ Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands [Icelandic Institute of Natural History] (1996). Válisti 1: Plöntur. (in Icelandic) Reykjavík: Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Cladonia macilenta | The British Lichen Society". britishlichensociety.org.uk.
  6. ^ Tobler, F. (1913). "Verrucaster lichenicola nov. gen., nov. spec". Abhandlungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins zu Bremen. 21 (2): 383–384.
  7. ^ Diederich, Paul; Schultz, Matthias (2021). "The identity of Verrucaster lichenicola Tobler". Herzogia. 34 (1): 203–207. doi:10.13158/heia.34.1.2021.203.
  8. ^ Baniya, Chitra Bahadur; Solhøy, Torstein; Gauslaa, Yngvar; Palmer, Michael W. (2010). "The elevation gradient of lichen species richness in Nepal". The Lichenologist. 42 (1): 83–96. doi:10.1017/S0024282909008627.