Cladonia furcata

Like other lichens in the genus Cladonia, the fruiting body of C. furcata is made of a flattened primary thallus and a secondary upright stalk that forms the secondary thallus. The secondary thallus – the podetium – is extensively branched, and may reach up to {{convert|10|cm|in}} tall. The podetia ranges in color from grayish or pale green to brown. The axil, the inner junction of a branchlet with a branch or with another branchlet, is open, with inrolled branches, and frequently with a longitudinal groove that extends down the podetium from the axil. The fertile (reproductive) branches of this lichen are more or less flattened, and often grooved. C. furcata does not have the vegetative reproductive structures soredia and isidia, but instead has apothecia—cup-like ascocarps that contain asci on which ascospores are borne. The apothecia are brown, small, and borne at the end of the branches.{{cite book |vauthors=Geiser L, McCune B |title=Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest |publisher=Oregon State University Press |location=Corvallis |year=1997 |page=88 |isbn=978-0-87071-394-1}}

Cladonia furcata is most commonly found in forests near coastlines, at low to mid elevations. It may be found growing on moss, humus, and soil, more rarely on rotten wood or at the base of trees. In North America, it is found from Alaska{{cite journal |author=Stenroos S. |year=1993|title=Taxonomy and distribution of the lichen family Cladoniaceae in the Antarctic and peri-Antarctic regions |journal=Cryptogamic Botany |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=310–44}} to California, and is very common in the west Cascade Range.

A field experiment on the effects of various common agrochemicals (mineral fertilizer, lime and calcium cyanamide) as well as organic fertilizer (manure) on C. furcata revealed that mineral fertilizer had no direct effect on lichen growth, manure promoted the length of the podetia, and calcium cyanamide proved to be lethal to C. furcata.{{cite journal |vauthors=Vagts I, Kinder M, Müller J |year=1994 |title=The effect of agrochemicals on the growth of Cladonia furcata |journal=The Lichenologist |issue=1 |pages=73–82 |volume= 26|doi=10.1006/lich.1994.1006 }} Another study showed that application of fertilizers containing either a combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, or solely potassium had a significant stimulatory effect on the growth of C. furcata.{{cite journal |vauthors=Vagts I, Kinder M |year=1999 |title=The response of different Cladonia species after treatment with fertilizer or lime in Heathland |journal=The Lichenologist |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=75–83 |doi=10.1017/s0024282999000109}}

Polysaccharides isolated from C. furcata were shown to induce cell death (apoptosis) in human leukemia K562 cells.{{cite journal |vauthors=Lin X, Cai YJ, Li ZX, Liu ZL, Yin SF, Zhao JC |title=Cladonia furcata polysaccharide induced apoptosis in human leukemia K562 cells |journal=Acta Pharmacologica Sinica |volume=22 |issue=8 |pages=716–20 |year=2001 |pmid=11749844 }} Furthermore, C. furcata polysaccharides decreased the activity of telomerase, an enzyme that helps some cancer cells avoid death; this activity suggests possible therapeutic potential in the treatment of cancer.{{cite journal |vauthors=Lin X, Cai YJ, Li ZX, Chen Q, Liu ZL, Wang R |title=Structure determination, apoptosis induction, and telomerase inhibition of CFP-2, a novel lichenin from Cladonia furcata |journal=Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects |volume=1622 |issue=2 |pages=99–108 |year=2003 |pmid=12880947 |doi=10.1016/S0304-4165(03)00131-4 }}

• List of Cladonia species

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furcata

Category:Lichen species

Category:Lichens of North America

Category:Lichens described in 1794

Category:Taxa named by William Hudson (botanist)