Sticta is a genus of lichens in the family Peltigeraceae. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in tropical areas, and includes about 114 species. These lichens have a leafy appearance, and are colored brown or black. Sticta species with cyanobacteria as photobionts can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, and due to their relative abundance and high turnover, they contribute appreciably to the rainforest ecosystem. They are commonly called spotted felt lichens.Plant Profile for Sticta (spotted felt lichen), USDA
Description The vegetative bodies of the Sticta, the thalli, are foliose, or leafy in appearance. They typically have dimensions of in diameter, although specimens with diameters of up to have been recorded. The lobes are rounded, and the upper surface is black or brown, while the lower surface has a light to dark brown layer of fine hairs (a ), with a few craters, called . Thalli often smell of shrimp or fish. The vegetative reproductive structures called isidia or soredia are often present on species in this genus; apothecia (cup-shaped spore-bearing structures) are rarely found. Sticta species are usually found growing on bark, wood, or mossy rock.
partners of Sticta species include members of the green algae genera Chloroidium, Coccomyxa, Elliptochloris, Heveochlorella, and Symbiochloris.
The liverwort genus Monoclea contains lichen-like organisms completely unrelated to, but readily confused with Sticta.
Distribution and habitat Sticta species are primarily tropical in distribution, but some species have been reported from as north as Norway, and as far south as the southern tip of South America.
Most species of Sticta grow on bark, wood, or mossy rock, usually in humid areas.
Phylogenetics Phylogenetic analysis of small and large ribosomal RNA subunits has confirmed that the genus Sticta is monophyletic.
Indicators of ecological continuity Some epiphytic lichen species may be used as "ancient woodland indicators"; they can used to quantitatively assess the degree to which a forest has had a long history of canopy continuity.Gilbert, pp. 70–71. The presence of these species is a reliable indicator that the forest has existed back to early medieval times, without being clear-cut and regrown. Two Sticta species, namely, S. dufournii or the blue-green algal morphotype S. canariensis, are among several species of lichens that may be used to calculate the New Index of Ecological Continuity (NIEC), considered the most sensitive and accurate determination of forest continuity.Gilbert, pp. 257–59.
Bioactive compounds A comprehensive comparative study on the antioxidant activity of lichens from Hawaii and Iceland revealed the Hawaiian lichen S. weigelii to be a potent producer of antioxidative compounds.
Species
Sticta acyphellata – Hawaii Sticta alpinotropica – Papua New Guinea Sticta andina – Colombia Sticta antoniana – Hawaii Sticta aongstroemii – Brazil Sticta arachnofuliginosa – Colombia Sticta arbuscula – Colombia Sticta arbusculotomentosa Sticta arenosella Sticta atlantica – Europe Sticta atroandensis – Colombia Sticta baileyi – Australia Sticta borinquensis – Puerto Rico Sticta brevior – Colombia Sticta brevipes Sticta caliginosa Sticta camarae Sticta canariensis Sticta caperata Sticta carolinensis Sticta ciliata – Neotropics; Africa; Macaronesia; Western Europe Sticta corymbosa – Puerto Rico Sticta cyphellulata Sticta dendroides Sticta densiphyllidiata – Puerto Rico Sticta deyana – North America Sticta diversa Sticta duplolimbata Sticta emmanueliana – Hawaii Sticta fasciculata Sticta filix Sticta flavireagens Sticta flavocyphellata – Australia Sticta flynnii – Hawaii Sticta fragilinata Sticta fuliginoides – Continental Europe; Canary Islands; eastern North America; Colombia Sticta fuliginosa – widespread Sticta fuscotomentosa Sticta gallowayana Sticta globulifuliginosa Sticta gretae Sticta guilartensis – Puerto Rico Sticta harrisii – Puerto Rico Sticta hawaiiensis – Hawaii Sticta henrici – Colombia Sticta hirsutifuliginosa Sticta howei – Australia Sticta humboldtii Sticta hypopsiloides Sticta indica – India Sticta isidiokunthii – Colombia Sticta jaguirreana Sticta laciniosa Sticta latifrons Sticta leucoblephara Sticta limbata Sticta lobarioides Sticta lumbschiana – Colombia Sticta macrocyphellata – Colombia Sticta macrofuliginosa Sticta macrothallina Sticta maculofuliginosa – Colombia Sticta marginifera Sticta martinii – New Zealand Sticta mexicana Sticta microcyphellata – Colombia Sticta minutula Sticta myrioloba – Australia Sticta nashii Sticta neopulmonarioides Sticta papillata – Colombia Sticta parahumboldtii – Colombia Sticta parvilobata – Puerto Rico Sticta pedunculata Sticta phyllidiifuliginosa Sticta phyllidiokunthii Sticta plumbeociliata Sticta pseudohumboldtii – Colombia Sticta pseudolobaria Sticta pulmonarioides Sticta riparia – Puerto Rico Sticta rhizinata – Colombia Sticta rubropruinosa – Colombia Sticta rutilans Sticta sayeri Sticta silverstonei – Colombia Sticta sinuosa Sticta smithii – Hawaii Sticta stipitata Sticta subfilicinella Sticta sublimbata Sticta subtomentella Sticta swartzii Sticta sylvatica – continental Europe; Andes (Colombia) Sticta tainorum – Puerto Rico Sticta tatamana Sticta tesselata Sticta torii Sticta tunjensis – Colombia Sticta variabilis Sticta venosa Sticta viviana – Colombia Sticta waikamoi – Hawaii Sticta xanthotropa
References
Cited literature