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Peltigera polydactylon (Necker) Hoffm.
Many-fruited Pelt
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: No Georgia state protection
Global Rank: G5
State Rank: SNR
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: No
SWAP 2015 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): No
SWAP 2025 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): No
2025 SGCN Priority Tier: None
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 0
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Mesic forests, rock outcrops
Dark gray when damp, paler dry, thallus with lobes moderately broad (0.5-1.5 cm), glossy; lobes have ruffled or crisped margins; large brown to reddish-brown apothecia held vertically at lobe tips, curled into saddle shape; undersides with dark veins separated by pale ovals, veins often reaching mature lobes tips where they merge into solid brown zone; rhizines randomly distributed along veins; FIELD ID: measure lobes & study underside to separate from Peltigera neopolydactyla (see image below)
Peltigera neopolydactyla is often larger, with lobes up to 2.5 cm across, & has a broad pale area on underside of most lobe tips, with dark (almost black) veins on older parts; P. horizontalis is similar but its apothecia are usually flat & round or oval, & its rhizines are generally organized into horizontal bands on undersides
None
Mesic forests, rock outcrops, on soil or moss, the latter sometimes over tree bases or rock
Terricolous/muscicolous foliose lichenized fungus, photobiont a cyanobacterium in Nostoc
None
Scattered north of the Fall Line
Unknown
Uncommon
None
Brodo, I. M. 2001. Lichens of North America. Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn.
Brodo, I. M. 2016. Keys to lichens of North America: revised and expanded. Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn.
Esslinger, T. L. 2021. A cumulative checklist for the lichen-forming, lichenicolous and allied fungi of the continental United States and Canada. Version 24. Opuscula Philolichenum 20: 100-394.
Malcolm Hodges
23 June 2022
