Sticta brevior

The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2013 by the lichenologists Bibiana Moncada and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was collected from the Vereda La Candelaria (La Plata, Huila) at an elevation of . In a time-calibrated chronogram of the phylogeny of the genus Sticta, Sticta brevior was most closely related to S. isidokunthii and a clade containing S. impressula, S. galowayana, and S. phyllidokunthii. Sticta pseudoimpressula, described as new to science from Bolivia in 2022, is also closely related. ==Description==

Sticta brevior has an irregular to somewhat palm-shaped thallus up to about across, with overlapping that are usually wide. The upper surface is pitted to wrinkled, glossy, and pale brown to reddish brown in herbarium material, often with scattered cream-colored patches. The lobe margins bear abundant true , and the lower surface is pale to light brown with a dense, soft . Vegetative propagules are absent. Its are abundant, rounded to angular, and usually white to cream-colored, while the apothecia are common and mostly . These apothecia are carried on distinct stalks and have a reddish-orange to reddish-brown with a tomentose margin bearing abundant pale trichomes, a feature that remains visible even in mature apothecia except right at the edge of the disc. The ascospores are hyaline, fusiform, and usually have one to three septa, with dimension of 30–40 x 7–8 μm. ==Habitat and distribution==

Discovered in the Colombian Andes, Sticta brevior typically grows in semi-exposed microsites within subandine to andine forests bordering páramo vegetation at elevations ranging from . It is predominantly found in the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Occidental regions, spanning subandine to andine, and páramo regions. While it usually grows as an epiphyte, it may occasionally grow on the ground, often close to liverworts of the family Lejeuneaceae, and the genera Frullania and Jubula, as well as Sphagnum mosses. It has been also observed growing near the ground on Blechnum ferns. ==References==