BC, Wells Gray, 20080423
WGWI west, lichens. 

Down to Coal Creek Falls and back.

Peltigera venosa [] 

Bryoria capillaris-group [] [voucher] 

 THAL long pendant, thin pale brown branches, v short slits here and there, no soredia (though at least some fuscescens seems to be present as well), rather abundant apothecia(!)

Usnea scabrata [] [voucher] 

 THAL long pendant, no fibrils, abundantly pap near base, v large soralia scattered, no isidia(!)

Phellinus igniarius [] [voucher] 

Spores, at 1000x, in K. Apo section, at 100x, in K. Apo section, at 100x, in water. Apothecia, at 30x. Apothecia, at 10x. 

Caloplaca holocarpa [] [voucher] 

 GEN crust lichen, on top surface of old punky Phellinus igniarius
 THAL immersed
 APO lecanoroid, epi strongly orange, hymen and hypo hyal, algae under disk, disk to 0.5mm wide, sl constricted bel, rim sl yellower than yellow-orange disk, epi strongly K+r
 SPORE 8 per ascus, polarlocular, hyal, 2 cell, smooth, broadly ellipsoid to globose, (9.3)11+/-1.2(13)x(5.9)8.4+/-1.5(10)um (Q=(1.0)1.4+/-0.21(1.6)) (N=8), septum (3.1)5.2+/-1.5(7.5)um (N=7), which implies cell length is only about 3um which is significantly shorter than septum
Clear ID using Curtis's working keys.

A whole bunch of Nostoc caught in an apo section, at 1000x. Four spores, at 1000x, in water.  These are clearly 1-celled, making it Lecanora not Lecania or something else. Sev spores, at 1000x, in water. Ascus with 16 spores, at 1000x, in water. Apo section, at 100x, in water. Apothecia, at 30x. Apothecia, at 10x. 

Lecanora sambuci [] [voucher] 

 GEN crust lichen, on top surface of old punky Phellinus igniarius
 THAL immersed
 APO lecanoroid, lt to med waxy brown disk with disappearing powdery white rim, epi brown with few-um granules that do not dissolve in K, hymen and hypo hyal, large (15um+) algae below, some large crystals in hypo, ascus with thick IKI+blue tip, para somewhat moniliform with abruptly expanded but unpigmented? tips, all K-
 SPORE 4-16 per ascus(!), one cell but often with two oil drops and one spore looked very much 2-celled, smooth, hyal, (9.4)9.7+/-0.38(10)x(4.5)5.2+/-0.40(5.9)um (Q=(1.5)1.8+/-0.12(1.9)) (N=7)
Only the one Lecanora is polysporous with lecanoroid apothecia, no thallus, and K- (in Curtis's working keys).

Parmeliopsis ambigua [] [voucher] 

With apothecia, on very hard weathered conifer root.

Umbilicaria americana [] [voucher] 

 GEN umbilicate lichen, on granite erratic
 THAL 25mm wide, somewhat appressed
above pale and copiously granular pruinose, darkening at marg, black rhiz conspic from ab at marg and in cracks
below brown, thick black attachment, copious branched pale to dark rhiz
 APO none
Seems U. vellea is a better match, but Trevor claims it is U. americana despite paler underside.

Umbilicaria havaasii [] [voucher] 

 GEN umbilicate lichen, on granite erratic
 THAL 25mm wide, raised off of rock
above white and granular pruinose in center to black sooty smoothish nearer marg, one nice pruinose wart with some black cilia
black short ratty cilia scattered along marg
below pale granular all over darkening to brown and less pruinose near marg, few black rhiz, some v minute black little fragile outgrowths in places
 APO none
Seems U. cylindrica is also possible, but Trevor claims it is U. havaasii.

Umbilicatia torrefacta [] 

Spores in ascus, at 1000x, in IKI. Apo section, at 100x, in K.  What a color! Apo section, at 100x, in water. Apo sections, at 30x, in water. Thallus and apo, at 30x. Thallus and apo, at 10x. 

Ophioparma rubricosa [] [voucher] 

 GEN crust lichen, on v weathered cedar root
 THAL granular, yell-green
 APO blood red, adnate, disks, prom red marg, no pruina, ~1mm wide, orange epi bleeding into pale orange hymen, opaque subhym, no algae in rim, asci with I- walls except thin uniform dk I+blue cap
para sparingly branched, I- or sl golden, not expanded
epi brilliantly K+ blue to violet (wow!) (possibly also hypothecium)
 SPORE 8 per ascus?, v long narrow, tapered more at one end, at least 4 cells, most are broken, 32-36x3.4-4.3um (Q=7.6-10)
Keyed with Lichens and Curtis's working keys.  The lichen substance is haemoventosin, a napthoquinone, apparently related to haematomone which is found in Haemotomma.  It is found encrusted in the epihymenium, the web confirmed it.

Ephebe [] 

Cortex, at 1000x, in K. Cortex, at 1000x, in K. Cortex and algae, at 1000x, in K. Cortex, at 1000x, in K. Spores in ascus, at 1000x, in K. Spore and paraphyses, at 1000x, in K. Spores in asci, at 1000x, in K. Spores in asci, at 1000x, in K. Apo and branches, at 400x, in K. Close-up of apo and thallus, at 10x. Close-up of apo and thallus, at 30x. Few cushions among moss. Several cushions among moss. Several cushions among moss. 

Polychidium muscicola [] [voucher] 

 GEN minute fruticulose lichen, apparently directly on exposed granite erratic but always hiding a little pocket of dead moss underneath
 THAL v densely branched little cushions 10-20mm across, branches v minute, olive-black, shiny, pointed, turn olive green and translucent when moist, cortex of blocky brownish cells and v tough even in K
 ALG appears to be Nostoc, mostly solitary, some in short chains, 8-15mm wide, no envelope, uniform green contents
 APO abundant, blackish when yound turning reddish, up to 2mm wide, buried among branches, prom rim, no algae present in rim
para sparingly branched, thickened rounded brownish tips
 SPORE 8 per ascus, long bean-shaped to pointy-ended, clear, 2 cell, 2 or 4 bubbles, smooth, (25)27+/-1.5(29)x(5.5)6.1+/-0.53(7.2)um (Q=(3.5)4.4+/-0.47(5.2)) (N=14)

Candelariella? 

Spores, at 1000x, in water. Squashed mazaedium and stalk, at 100x, in water. Sev stalks, at 30x. Two stalks, at 30x. Stalk, at 30x. 

Calicium parvum [] [voucher] 

 GEN calicioid lichen, under conifer log at top of dry exposed hill
 THAL immersed
 APO stalk black, v thin, exciple well developed with some whitish dust, mazaedium not extruding very far, spore mass distinctly greenish
 SPORE football, brown, 2 cell, irreg cracking plates, strongly constricted in age, (9.0)11+/-1.3(13)x(4.8)6.0+/-0.87(8.3)um (Q=(1.6)1.9+/-0.29(2.7)) (N=17)
Didn't check the asci.  Could be, who knows.

Peltigera elisabethae [] [voucher] 

 GEN felt lichen, on mossy rock near pond
 THAL smooth, shiny, rich brown to gray, margins tightly curled up and crisped, no apo, not wrinkled, white near edge with vaguely concentric tufted rhiz, veins unapparent

Fuzz at fresh margins, at 30x. 

Peltigera malacea [] [voucher] 

 GEN felt lichen, on moss
 THAL green when damp, drying gray-brown, min white fuzzy near marg, strongly broadly curled up, some black apo and some red apo curled up like tongue, d whote felted on back of apo, broad white smooth zone bel near marg turning blackish inside, veins nearly solid with only a few interspaces to show that it even has veins, lobes quite thick, no cephalodia seen

Spores, at 1000x, in IKI. Spores, at 1000x, in IKI. Apo section, at 100x, in K. Hymenium, at 400x, in water. Exciple, at 400x, in water.  Apparently these packed radiating hyphae are characteristic of the genus? Apo section, at 100x, in water. Apo, at 30x. Apo, at 10x. 

Biatora vernalis [] [voucher] 

 GEN crust lichen, on moss on boulder
 THAL greenish whitish indistinct, so many apothecia it's hard to tell what the thallus would look like, possibly corticate-granular possible thin and continuous
 APO start as little shiny waxy yellowish buds, turn into reddish thick but narrow disks with prom shiny yellowish rims, then finally turn into hemispherical red-brown lustrous things without visible rim, all parts hyal in section, epi turning faintly yellowish in K, exciple composed of narrow radiating hyphae, very difficult to separate para and asci even in K, ascus with thick IKI+blue tip (no structure seen but who knows with this LM), para seem to have very smooth clear blobby tips but those might be spores stuck to the epi? 
 SPORE narrow sl bent ellipsoid to oblong, 1-cell, hyal, smooth, 8 per ascus? (saw several groups of around 8 sticking together presumably from the same ascus), (10)13+/-2.5(16)x(3.3)4.3+/-0.63(4.9)um (Q=(2.1)3.3+/-1.0(5.0)) (N=5)

Keys out in both Lichens and Curtis's working keys as Biatora vernalis (although Curtis's keys also mention B. alaskana which has an odd mixture of 0 and 3-septate spores but no 1-septate spores). The distinctive radiating exciple matches Brodo's generic description well.

Cetraria ericetorum [] [voucher] 

 GEN shrub lichen, on dry mossy ground or dry logs
 THAL much branched shrubby thing, rich reddish brown, shiny, flattened but curled lengthwise into troughs, copiously fringe with fine black-tipped fibrils to 1mm long, shiny both sides, paler and sl veined bel, white linear to small round pseudocyphellae near marg bel
 APO 5-7mm wide, disks near branch tips

Esslingeriana idahoensis [] 

Cladina arbuscula [] [voucher] 

 GEN cladina, on dry mossy soil on hillock
 THAL much-branched, no squamules, no cortex, yellowish, 5- or more branching, axils gaping, lt brown pycnidia at tips
This seems to be by far the most common around here.

Cladina rangiferina [] [voucher] 

 GEN cladina, on dry mossy soil on hillock
 THAL much-branched, no squamules, no cortex, whitish to brownish-grayish near tips, tips bent over, branching in 3s or 4s sometimes 5s, perforated axils, minute black tips
Easily distinguished by lighter non-green appearance.  Usually less compact or pillowed, as well.

Cladonia cornuta [] [voucher] 

 GEN cladonia, in moist moss on side of hill
 THAL 
squam none basal, scattered one third the way up stems, ~1mm, fan-shaped, shallowly lobed, curled up, white felty bel w hint of yellow at attachment, smooth clean green above
pod 50-80x1.5mm, sinuous curved, pointed to cupped (to 2mm wide), discont cortex
pycnidia brown clustered in clumps around cup marg, overall brownish appearance, hard to collect without podetia separating and falling apart, powdery soredia near tops of stems and in cups

Close-up of inside of cups, at 30x. 

Cladonia phyllophora [] 

 GEN cladonia, on dry mossy soil on hillock
 THAL 
squam small, curled, dirty, some on cup marg
podetia 10-15x1-1.5mm, cups flaring somewhat abruptly to 2mm, occ one or two prolif from marg, brown pycnidia raised around cup marg, white pruinose inside cup
cortex not continuous, overall dingy dirty appearance, blackening conspic near base
Trevor concurs.

Cladonia borealis [] [voucher] 

 GEN cladonia, on dry mossy soil on hillock
 THAL 
squam small, thickish, white bel, deeply lobed, some granules on stem also growing into squamule-like things
podetia 7-10x1-1.5mm, one or two with prolif from marg, cupped, yell-green, red pycnidia around marg, cups to 5mm wide, gradually to abruptly flaring, cortex smooth to lumpy to almost squamulose and discont to nearly cont, soft-cort granules in cup and some larger corticate squamules

Cladonia gracilis elongata [] [voucher] 

 GEN cladonia, on dry mossy soil on hillock
 THAL 
squam small, thickish, white below, 2-3mm long, divided, curled up
podetia 15-20x1-3mm, irreg and grooved, gen expanding upwards to cluster of dk brown apothecia like a bouquet, cortex smooth areolate with some areoles growing almost into squamules

Cladonia multiformis [] [voucher] 

 GEN cladonia, on dry mossy soil on hillock
 THAL 
squam small, thickish, white bel, ~1mm, not so divided
podetia rather branched and cladina-like, 20-30mm tall, overall pale sl brownish cast, tips all with little dk brown apothecia, cortex discont all over, some small squamules up stem to top, some splits esp in axils

Cladonia macilenta [] 

Cladonia fimbriata [] 

Cladonia cervicornis [] 

Cladonia cenotea [] 

Cladonia botrytes [] 

Xanthoparmelia coloradoensis [] 

Xanthoparmelia cumberlandia [] 

Gorgeous rusty one with tiny apothecia. 

Porpidia [] 

Nice specimen of whatever-it-is. 

Porpidia [] 

Acarospora [] 

Physcia caesia [] 

Physcia phaea [] 

Physconia perisidiosa [] 

Melanelia stygia [] 

Melanelia panniformis [] 

Parmelia sulcata (with apothecia) [] 

Hyphae at edge, at 1000x, in water.  Notice oily yellow encrustation. Hyphae in center, at 400x, in water. Section of fruiting body(?), at 100x, in water. Close-up of stalked fruiting body(?), at 30x. Close-up of fruiting body(?), at 30x. 

orange fungus [] [voucher] 

No idea. 
 GEN fungus?, on wet rotting pine log
 THAL bright yell-orange gelatinous-looking knobs protruding through surface of wood, 1-2mm wide, some sl stalked, sl roughened texture, fairly stiff esp when dry, composed of dense tangle of long hyphae, hyphae encrusted with yellow oil-drop-like stuff near marg and with rounded tips, all K-, no idea where the spores might be hiding

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Last changed on May 19, 2008