General:
Common Name: The Pelt Lichens. Echoes the genus name and describes the general resemblance of the species to various animal skins.
Small to large stratified foliose lichens, corticate above, noncorticate below, isidiate, sorediate or lobulate or not, cephalodiate or not, lobes loosely attached, short to subrotund, averaging to 1–3 (–4) cm wide, thin or thick. Upper surface greenish, greyish or brownish, smooth or somewhat roughened, naked or tomentose. Lower surface pale or dark, usually veined, bearing numerous rhizines, these short or long, slender or tufted. Medulla white. Photobiont green and/or blue-green.
Apothecia appressed on upper surface near margins, often saddle-shaped, disc brownish; spores 4-celled to multi-celled, ellipsoid or needlelike/acicular, colourless or brown at maturity, (2–) 8 per ascus.
Over soil and moss, occasionally over trees.
Notes: All but one of the 30 Peltigera species reported for North America are known to occur in B.C. Peltigera is a taxonomically rather difficult genus containing a number of species groups that are not yet satisfactorily elucidated. Chemistry is highly variable in this group; though thin-layer chromatography may help to identify some species, spot test reactions do not.

Species description:
Photobiont a greyish blue to dark blue cyanobacterium; upper surface generally greyish to bluish or brownish, never bright green when wet; cephalodia absent; bearing soredia, isidia or marginal lobules AND
Not attached to Peltigera aphthosa aggregate AND
Soredia present over lobe margins or upper or lower surface AND
Rhizines present; veins cottony, but not covered in minute erect hairs; upper surface K- AND
Soredia essentially confined to lobe margins AND
Lower surface more or less distinctly veined; upper surface lacking hairs; over various substrates; widespread; infrequent

Comments:
Some forms of P. collina could be mistaken for Nephroma parile. In that species, however, the lower surface lacks veins and rhizines.

Contents:
Tenuiorin and zeorin.

Source:  Lichens of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration By:  Trevor Goward

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Peltigera scutata (Dickson) Duby