Reindeer Lichen

Cladonia portentosa

''Cladonia portentosa'', also known as reindeer lichen, is a light-coloured, fruticose lichen belonging to the family Cladoniaceae. A similar-looking species, also known by the common name "reindeer lichen", is ''Cladonia rangiferina''.
Reindeer lichen (Cladonia portentosa), Loonse en Drunense Duinen, Netherlands A full field of reindeer lichen. To be specific, Cladonia portentosa, because multiple species carry this common name. The dutch name of this particular species translates as "Open reindeer moss". The "Open" word refers to its branching, yet the moss part is of course misleading, this not being a moss. I stumbled upon this field and accidentally stepped on the edge of it. They were so dried out that they crumbled into dust, although this species does always have this pale look. To be clear, always avoid messing with lichen when you can, they grow incredibly slow, max 0.5cm per year. Although I did my research, species ID is likely but still tentative. The main alternative is Cladonia rangiferina. Cladonia portentosa has more symmetrical branching, which I'll show in another photo later in the set. Furthermore, Cladonia portentosa is associated with poor habitats as seen here, and it statistically dominant in occurrence. Cladonia portentosa,Europe,Loonse en Drunense Duinen,Netherlands,World

Appearance

''Cladonia portentosa'' forms compact interwoven mats up to 6 cm tall. It is richly branched, each branch usually dividing into three but with the penultimate sometimes dividing into two. The branching is at a larger angle than that of ''Cladonia rangiferina''.

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Taxonomy
KingdomFungi
DivisionAscomycota
ClassLecanoromycetes
OrderLecanorales
FamilyCladoniaceae
GenusCladonia
SpeciesC. portentosa
Photographed in
United Kingdom
Netherlands