Peltigera vainioi

Peltigera vainioi has a club-shaped (clavate) thallus with a short stipe; it measures up to 2 cm (0.8 in) by 1.5 cm (0.6 in) wide. It grows on the ground, to which it is attached by a single holdfast. The upper surface of the thallus is smooth and bluish-grey. It has tiny pores that are 5–6 μm long by 0.75 by 1.57 μm wide. The upper cortex is paraplectenchymatous (a cell arrangement where the hyphae are oriented in all directions), and measures 72–82 μm thick. Soralia are found on the upper margin of the thallus; soredia are granular with a bluish colour. Pycnidia and apothecia are absent. The photobiont of Peltigera vainioi is a species of Nostoc, with cells that are 5.4–3.6 μm in diameter. These algal cells are contained in a continuous tissue layer, 44–50 μm thick, below the upper cortex.

Peltigera vainioi is found in South America. It has been reported from Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia. It has been collected from elevations ranging from 2,000–3,300 m (6,600–10,800 ft). In Venezuela, where it appears to be locally abundant, it is typically found growing on the ground in thin, sandy soil, near the mosses Bryum and Polytrichum.