Lichens are usually a combination of a fungus and a green algae or a blue-green algae or a combination of all three. In this symbiotic relationship, the fungus is able to obtain nutrients from the air and water that washes over them, while the algae is able to get energy from the sun (photosynthesis). Recent research has added yeast to this mix as well!
It is easy to think that discovering new species is a thing of the past, or something that only happens in exotic far away countries. But new species of lichen are still being found right here in our very own backyard - the Guelph Arboretum!
This tiny new-to-science lichen species is called Chaenotheca selvae and it is currently only known to exist within the Guelph Arboretum! Troy McMullin has done extensive research on lichens here at The Arboretum, and, along with his colleagues Steven Newmaster and Jose Maloles, has discovered a total of 111 species of lichens in The Arboretum (see list below), including the above species as well as more than a dozen super rare lichen species.
Check out this video all about C.selvae!
To learn more about Troy's research and find a link to a published paper on Arboretum lichens, click here [1].
This cool photo by Patrick Boerlin shows a piece of bark from The Arboretum with five of the six most common species of lichens found here. The inset photo is the sixth species.
Sulphur Firedot Lichen, Caloplaca flavovirescens. Photo by Troy McMullin.
Powder-edged Speckled Greenshield Lichen, Flavopunctelia soredica. Photo by Troy McMullin
Powdery Sunburst Lichen, Xanthomendoza ulophyllodes. Photo by Troy McMullin
Lichens and Allied Fungi of The Arboretum, Guelph, Ontario
| Scientific Name | Vernacular Name | Lichen Type |
|---|---|---|
| Acarospora fuscata | Brown cobblestone lichen | |
| Acarospora moenium | none known | |
| Amandinea punctata | Tiny button lichen | |
| Anisomeridium polypori | none known | |
| Arthonia caesia | Frosted comma lichen | |
| Arthonia caudata | none known | |
| Arthrosporum populorum | none known | |
| Bacidia schweinitzii | Surprise lichen | |
| Bacidina egenula | none known | |
| Bilimbia sabuletorum | Six-celled moss-dot | |
| Caloplaca arenaria | Granite firedot lichen | |
| Caloplaca cerina | Gray-rimmed firedot lichen | |
| Caloplaca feracissima | Sidewalk firedot lichen | |
| Caloplaca flavovirescens | Sulphur firedot lichen | |
| Caloplaca holocarpa | Firedot lichen | |
| Caloplaca microphyllina | None known | |
| Caloplaca pyracea | Firedot lichen | |
| Caloplaca soralifera | None known | |
| Candelaria concolor | Candleflame lichen | Big Six |
| Candelariella aurella | Hidden goldspeck lichen | |
| Candelariella efflorescens | Powdery goldspeck lichen | |
| Candelariella vitellina | Common goldspeck lichen | |
| Catillaria nigroclavata | None known | |
| Chaenotheca sp. | Whisker lichen | |
| Chaenotheca xyloxena | Snag whiskers | |
| Chaenothecopsis exilis | Pin lichen | Saprophytic fungi |
| Chaenothecopsis sp. | Ambiguous pin lichen | Allied fungi nonlichenized |
| Cladonia chlorophaea | Mealy pixie-cup | |
| Cladonia coniocraea | Common powderhorn | |
| Cladonia cristatella | British Soldiers | |
| Cladonia fimbriata | Trumpet lichen | |
| Caldonia incrassata | Powder-foot British Soldiers | |
| Cladonia macilenta | Lipstick powderhorn | |
| Cladonia macilenta var. bacillaris | Lipstick powderhorn | |
| Cladonia ochrochlora | Smooth-footed powderhorn | |
| Cladonia phyllophora | Felt Lichen | |
| Cladonia pyxidata | Pebbled pixie-cup | |
| Cladonia rei | Wand lichen | |
| Coenogonium pineti | Dimple lichen | |
| Cyphelium tigillare | Soot lichen | |
| Evernia mesomorpha | Boreal oakmoss | |
| Evernia prunastri | Oakmoss lichen | |
| Flavoparmelia caperata | Common greenshield lichen | |
| Flavopunctelia flaventior | Speckled greenshield | |
| Flavopunctelia soredica | Powder-edged speckled greenshield | |
| Graphis scripta | Common script lichen | |
| Hyperphyscia adglutinata | Grainy shadow-crust | |
| Hypocenomyce scalaris | Common clam lichen | |
| Illosporiopsis christiansenii | none known | Lichenolicolous fungi |
| Julella fallaciosa | none known | |
| Lecania croatica | none known | |
| Lecania naegelii | none known | Scientific Name |
| Lecanora allophana f. sorediata | none known | |
| Lecanora dispersa | Mortar rim lichen | |
| Lecanora hagenii | Hagens rim lichen | |
| Lecanora meridionalis | Southern rim lichen | |
| Lecanora polytropa | Granite-speck rim lichen | |
| Lecanora sambuci | Rim-lichen 2 | |
| Lecanora strobilina | Mealy rim lichen | |
| Lecanora symmicta | Fused rim lichen | |
| Lecanora thysanophora | Mapledust | |
| Lecidea sp. | Tile lichen | |
| Lecidella stigmatea | Disk lichen | |
| Lepraria finkii | Fluffy dust lichen | |
| Lepraria neglecta | Zoned dust lichen | |
| Melanelixia subaurifera | Abraded camouflage lichen | |
| Micarea peliocarpa | Shadow dot lichen | |
| Mycocalicium subtile | Snag pin | Saprophytic fungi |
| Ochrolechia arborea | Saucer lichen | |
| Ovicuculispora parmeliae | none known | |
| Parmelia saxatilis | Salted shield lichen | |
| Parmelia sulcata | Hammered shield lichen | Big Six |
| Peltigera elisabethae | Scaly pelt | |
| Peltigera neckeri | Black saddle lichen | |
| Peltigera neopolydactyla | Carpet pelt | |
| Peltigera polydactylon | Many-fruited pelt | |
| Peltigera praetextata | Born-again Pelt lichen | |
| Phaeocalicium curtisii | Sumac needle lichen | Saprophytic fungi |
| Phaeocalicium polyporaeum | Polypore needle lichen | Saprophytic fungi |
| Phaeophyscia adiastola | Powder-tipped shadow lichen | |
| Phaeophyscia hirsuta | Hairy Shadow lichen | |
| Phaeophyscia orbicularis | Mealy shadow lichen | |
| Phaeophyscia pusilloides | Pompon shadow lichen | |
| Phaeophyscia rubropulchra | Orange-cored shadow lichen | |
| Physcia adscendens | Hooded rosette lichen | |
| Physcia aipolia | Hoary rosette lichen | |
| Physcia millegrana | Mealy rosette lichen | Big Six |
| Physcia stellaris | Star rosette lichen | Big Six |
| Physciella chloantha | Powdery-margined cryptic rosette | |
| Physciella melanchra | Mealy cryptic rosette | |
| Physconia detersa | Bottlebrush frost lichen | |
| Physconia enteroxantha | Yellow-edged frost lichen | |
| Porpidia speirea | Boulder lichen | |
| Protoblastenia rupestris | Orange dot lichen | |
| Protoparmelia hypotremella | none known | |
| Punctelia rudecta | Rough speckled shield lichen | |
| Rinodina destituta | none known | |
| Rinodina freyi | none known | |
| Sarcogyne regularis | Frosted grain-spored lichen | |
| Sarea resinea | Orange resin dots | |
| Scoliciosporum umbrinum | none known | |
| Sphinctrina anglica | Short-stalked pin lichen | Lichenolicolous fungi |
| Strangospora moriformis | none known | |
| Trapeliopsis flexuosa | Board lichen | |
| Usnea hirta | Bristly beard lichen | |
| Verrucaria nigrescens | Speck lichen | |
| Xanthomendoza fallax | Hooded sunburst lichen | Big Six |
| Xanthomendoza ulophyllodes | Powdery sunburst lichen | |
| Xanthoparmelia cumberlandia | Cumberland rock-shield | |
| Xanthoria parietina | Maritime sunburst lichen | |
| Xanthoria polycarpa | Pin-cushion sunburst lichen |
Species found near, but not in, The Arboretum
| Scientific Name | Vernacular Name | Lichen Type |
|---|---|---|
| Multiclavula mucida | Club-mushroom lichen | |
| Xanthoria elegans | Elegant sunburst lichen |
