Field Guide

Mosses, Liverworts, and Lichens

Showing 1 - 6 of 6 results
Media
Cluster of red-tipped British soldiers podetia
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cladonia cristatella
Description
British soldier lichen is widespread in eastern North America. Branching stalks with bright red knobs at their tips arise from a patch of small, green scalelike structures. The red is similar to the color of British soldiers’ coats during the American Revolution.
Media
Common powderhorn lichen (Cladonia coniocraea) at Painted Rock CA
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cladonia coniocraea
Description
Common powderhorn’s slender, gray-green, hornlike fruiting structures emerge from a carpet of gray-green, scalelike squamules. This lichen usually grows on old, damp wood, often on tree bases, in shady areas.
Media
Pale gray cluster of gray reindeer lichen growing in a patch of moss
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cladina rangiferina (syn. Cladonia rangiferina)
Description
Gray reindeer lichen, also called reindeer moss, takes the form of bright ashy or silvery-gray, branching cushions that grow on the soil. The branch tips usually bend to point in the same direction, as if combed or blown by a strong wind.
Media
Dixie reindeer lichen (Cladina subtenuis)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cladina subtenuis (syn. Cladonia subtenuis)
Description
Dixie reindeer lichen, also called reindeer moss, takes the form of pale yellow-green, finely branched cushions that grow on the soil. This is the most common and widespread of Missouri’s reindeer lichen species.
Media
Dog tooth lichen showing thallus undersides and upraised, white lobe tips
Species Types
Scientific Name
Peltigera canina
Description
Dog tooth lichen, Peltigera canina, is a foliose lichen that usually grows on soil. It’s common and easy to identify. The spore-bearing structures are rusty brown and rolled, standing upright at the lobe tips.
Media
A variety of foliose lichens nearly covering the trunk of a small redbud tree, with redbud flowers in upper right
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 436 species in Missouri
Description
A lichen is a composite organism formed by certain fungus species that join with certain algae species. Lichens can be many colors and can be crusty, leaflike, flaky, branching, or mossy. They grow on rocks, trees, or other surfaces.
See Also

About Mosses, Liverworts, and Lichens in Missouri

Mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens seem rather similar, but these organisms are in very different groups. Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts are small, low plants usually found in damp habitats. Unlike more familiar plants, they lack veinlike structures and do not produce flowers or seeds — instead, they produce spores. Meanwhile, lichens are not plants at all: they are a collection of different fungi that have photosynthetic algae living within their tissues.