Cladonia furcata (Information about this image)
Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Fungi
Subregnum: Dikarya
Divisio: Ascomycota
Subdivisio: Pezizomycotina
Classis: Lecanoromycetes
Subclassis: Lecanoromycetidae
Ordo: Lecanorales
Familia: Cladoniaceae
Genus: Cladonia
Species: Cladonia furcata
Subspecies: C. f. subsp. furcata – C. f. subsp. subrangiformis
Name
Cladonia furcata (Hudson) Schrad., 1794
Basionym
Lichen furcatus Huds.
Synonyms
Cladonia subrangiformis L.Scriba ex Sandst., 1924 (as used in North America)
Cladonia herrei Fink ex J.Hedrick, 1934
References
Schrad., Spicil. fl. germ. 1: 107 (1794)
Schrader, H A (1794) Spicilegium Florae Germaniae. - Hannoverae. 1-194 pp. (Mattick Rec.# 33121 - Recent Literature on Lichens)
Australian lichens - Discussion of Cladonia furcata
North American Lichen Checklist
USDA Plant Database
List of British Lichens & Lichenicolous Fungi
LIAS
Brodo, Sharnoff, & Sharnoff. 2001. Lichens of North America
MycoBank
Index Fungorum
Links to photos
Stephen Sharnoff's Lichen Photos - Cladonia furcata
The Lichen Herbarium, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway (Photo Gallery) - Cladonia furcata
Flechtenbilder (Lichen Images) by Ulrich Kirschbaum -Cladonia furcata
British Lichens (photo by M. Sutcliffe) Cladonia furcata
Lichen Gallery of Leif & Anita Stridvall - Cladonia furcata
Irish lichens (photos and descriptions) - Cladonia furcata
Vernacular names
English: Many forked cladonia
suomi: Haaratorvijäkälä
日本語: マタゴケ
русский: Кладония вильчатая
Cladonia furcata or the many-forked cup lichen[1] is a species of cup lichen in the family Cladoniaceae. It has an intermediate to tolerant air pollution sensitivity.[2] Extracts of this species have been shown to kill leukemia cells in vitro, and may have possible value in the treatment of cancer.
Description
Like other lichens in the genus Cladonia, the fruiting body of C. furcata is made of a flattened primary thallus and a secondary upright stalk that forms the secondary thallus. The secondary thallus – the podetium – is extensively branched, and may reach up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) tall. The podetia ranges in color from grayish or pale green to brown. The axil, the inner junction of a branchlet with a branch or with another branchlet, is open, with inrolled branches, and frequently with a longitudinal groove that extends down the podetium from the axil. The fertile (reproductive) branches of this lichen are more or less flattened, and often grooved. C. furcata does not have the vegetative reproductive structures soredia and isidia, but instead has apothecia—cup-like ascocarps that contain asci on which ascospores are borne. The apothecia are brown, small, and borne at the end of the branches.[2]
Habitat and distribution
Cladonia furcata is most commonly found in forests near coastlines, at low to mid elevations. It may be found growing on moss, humus, and soil, more rarely on rotten wood or at the base of trees.[2] In North America, it is found from Alaska[3] to California, and is very common in the west Cascade Range.
Sensitivity to agrochemicals
A field experiment on the effects of various common agrochemicals (mineral fertilizer, lime and calcium cyanamide) as well as organic fertilizer (manure) on C. furcata revealed that mineral fertilizer had no direct effect on lichen growth, manure promoted the length of the podetia, and calcium cyanamide proved to be lethal to C. furcata.[4] Another study showed that application of fertilizers containing either a combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, or solely potassium had a significant stimulatory effect on the growth of C. furcata.[5]
Bioactive compounds
Polysaccharides isolated from C. furcata were shown to induce cell death (apoptosis) in human leukemia K562 cells.[6] Furthermore, C. furcata polysaccharides decreased the activity of telomerase, an enzyme that helps some cancer cells avoid death; this activity suggests possible therapeutic potential in the treatment of cancer.[7]
See also
List of Cladonia species
References
"Standardized Common Names for Wild Species in Canada". National General Status Working Group. 2020.
Geiser L, McCune B (1997). Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-87071-394-1.
Stenroos S. (1993). "Taxonomy and distribution of the lichen family Cladoniaceae in the Antarctic and peri-Antarctic regions". Cryptogamic Botany. 3 (4): 310–44.
Vagts I, Kinder M, Müller J (1994). "The effect of agrochemicals on the growth of Cladonia furcata". The Lichenologist. 26 (1): 73–82. doi:10.1006/lich.1994.1006.
Vagts I, Kinder M (1999). "The response of different Cladonia species after treatment with fertilizer or lime in Heathland". The Lichenologist. 31 (1): 75–83. doi:10.1017/s0024282999000109.
Lin X, Cai YJ, Li ZX, Liu ZL, Yin SF, Zhao JC (2001). "Cladonia furcata polysaccharide induced apoptosis in human leukemia K562 cells". Acta Pharmacologica Sinica. 22 (8): 716–20. PMID 11749844.
Lin X, Cai YJ, Li ZX, Chen Q, Liu ZL, Wang R (2003). "Structure determination, apoptosis induction, and telomerase inhibition of CFP-2, a novel lichenin from Cladonia furcata". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects. 1622 (2): 99–108. doi:10.1016/S0304-4165(03)00131-4. PMID 12880947.
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