Cladonia digitata (L.) Hoffm.

A red-fruited Cladonia species characterized by large, usually sorediate primary squamules with an orange underside at the base. Its podetia are very variable, corticate and in the upper part also sorediate. When well-developed, it forms finger-like outgrowths, with apothecia or pycnidia, at the scyphus margins. However, the presence of variously malformed or only partly developed podetia is common.

Most commonly, the lichen grows on decaying wood and on bases of trees with acidic bark. It may also be found on humus, acidic soil and mossy rocks. In Europe, C. digitata is abundant but with boreal preferences, so it is absent from the Mediterranean. In the Czech Republic, it is one of the most common forest Cladonia species, mainly at middle and higher elevations.

Ascomycota → Lecanoromycetes → Lecanorales → Cladoniaceae → Cladonia