Gowardia arctica is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling), fruticose (bushy) lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in arctic regions of Northern Canada and Russia, it was formally described as a new species in 2009 by Pekka Halonen, Leena Myllys, Saara Velmala, and Heini Hyvärinen. The type specimen was collected from Banks Island in Swan Lake (Inuvialuit, Northwest Territories); here, at an elevation of 100 m (330 ft), it was found growing among mesic mountain heath. It also occurs along the Arctic Ocean coast (and associated islands) of Russia. The lichen is richly branched, black to black-brown in colour (regions close to the base may be lighter), and reaches up to 13 cm (5.1 in) in diameter. It contains alectorialic acid and two other unknown lichen products.[1]

Gowardia arctica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Lecanorales
Family: Parmeliaceae
Genus: Gowardia
Species:
G. arctica
Binomial name
Gowardia arctica
Halonen, Myllys, Velmala & Hyvärinen (2009)

References

edit
  1. ^ Halonen, Pekka; Myllys, Leena; Velmala, Saara; Hyvärinen, Heini (2009). "Gowardia (Parmeliaceae)—a new alectorioid lichen genus with two species". The Bryologist. 112 (1): 138–146. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-112.1.138.