A close-up of branching pale reindeer lichen (*Cladonia rangiferina*).

Reindeer lichen (*Cladonia rangiferina*) close-up.

Creator: Tomas P.

Licence: CC0 1.0

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Species record

Reindeer Lichen

Cladonia rangiferina

Explore the Reindeer Lichen (Cladonia rangiferina) species record in The Ark Is Earth, including classification, habitat, distribution, conservation information, and sources.

Summary

Reindeer lichen is a pale, branching lichenised fungus that grows on acidic soil, humus, and moss in boreal forests, heaths, and tundra.

Classification in this archive

  1. Kingdom: Fungi
  2. Phylum: Ascomycota
  3. Class: Lecanoromycetes
  4. Order: Lecanorales
  5. Family: Cladoniaceae
  6. Genus: Cladonia
  7. Species: Cladonia rangiferina

Habitat and distribution

Selected documented locations — not a complete species range.

Habitat
boreal forest, heath, tundra
Selected regions
Asia, Europe, North America
Selected countries
Canada, Norway, Sweden, United States

Conservation status

Conservation status not recorded.

Did you know?

  • Reindeer lichen is a bulky lichen with branches that curve back.
  • Some caribou herds rely on reindeer lichens as winter food, including Cladonia rangiferina.

More images

Reindeer lichen (*Cladonia rangiferina*) growing on Traill Island in northeast Greenland.

Reindeer lichen (*Cladonia rangiferina*) in the Arctic landscape of Traill Island, Greenland.

Creator: Jerzy Strzelecki

Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

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Sources and attribution