A red-fruited Cladonia with orange bases of the undersides of primary squamules and usually unbranched podetia, sometimes narrowly scyphose. It occurs on decaying wood, tree bases, humus, acidic soil and rarely also on mossy rocks and stones. It is a boreal-montane lichen with oceanic tendencies. In central Europe, C. polydactyla is abundant in mountain areas. Likewise, in the Czech Republic, it more commonly occurs at altitudes above 700 m. Locally, it may also be more abundant in ravines of the north-Bohemian sandstone rock formations with inverted climate. It is also frequent in spruce forests. If only primary squamules are present, or podetia are underdeveloped, it may be easily overlooked or difficult to distinguish from the common C. macilenta.
In addition to the typical form containing thamnolic acid, there are also populations containing squamatic acid, known from oceanic areas of Europe and North America. They are distinguished as a separate taxon, C. umbricola, which has not been documented in the Czech Republic yet.
taxonomic classification:Ascomycota → Lecanoromycetes → Lecanorales → Cladoniaceae → Cladonia
most frequented synonyms:Cladonia flabelliformisAll records: 455, confirmed 235. One click on a selected square displays particular record(s), including their source(s).