Cladonia fimbriata

Cladonia fimbriata, known in German as Trompetenflechte, is a lichen in the genus Cladonia. Lichens are not single plants but a partnership between a fungus and an alga. The alga provides nutrients through photosynthesis and the fungus offers protection and structure.

Cladonia fimbriata forms hollow slender stalks that can reach about two centimeters in height and are pale gray to slightly greenish. These stalks end abruptly in a cup shaped structure that looks like a tiny trumpet. The entire surface appears finely powdery because it is densely covered with soredia, which are small powder like units used for reproduction. This powdery coating also continues on the inside of the cups. The cups can reach up to about four millimeters in diameter and are often surprisingly evenly formed. At the base of the stalks there are small gray green leaf like scales, but they are usually sparse and easy to miss. Apothecia and pycnidia, which are the fruiting bodies of the fungal partner, are rarely seen and when they do appear they sit at the rim of the cups and are brownish in color.

 

This species is very common. In Europe it grows mainly on sandy to sandy loamy soils, as well as on rotting wood or at the base of tree trunks in bright open places. It is often found together with mosses in recently disturbed habitats, on decaying wood, in gardens and on old walls, and sometimes also in heathlands and dune areas.

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