Haloplaca suaedae

Haloplaca suaedae is a species of epiphytic (plant-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It was formally described as a new species in 2001 by the lichenologists Oliver L. Gilbert and Brian John Coppins, who initially classified it in the genus Caloplaca. Ulf Arup and colleagues transferred it to the newly created genus Haloplaca in 2013, as part of a larger molecular phylogenetics-informed restructuring of the Teloschistaceae. The type specimen was collected in Dorset (South West England), at The Fleet along Chesil Beach (grid reference 30/668756) at sea level. It was found growing epiphytically on Suaeda vera beside a saline lagoon on 19 September 2000. The species name suaedae refers to its only known host. In addition to England, it also occurs in Greece, Morocco, and Turkey.