Letharia columbiana

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Letharia columbiana
Letharia columbiana (Nutt.) J.W. Thomson 204908.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Lecanorales
Family: Parmeliaceae
Genus: Letharia
Species:
L. columbiana
Binomial name
Letharia columbiana
Synonyms
  • Letharia californica
  • Borrera columbiana

Letharia columbiana (common name brown-eye wolf lichen) is a common lichen in subalpine forests, particularly in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, and parts of Canada. [1]   It is in the family Parmeliaceae, and the genus Letharia . Its characteristics include a bright citron color, “brown-eyes”, and rounded, irregular branches. [2] Though previously believed to lump together several lineages such as Letharia gracilis and others, there now exists more specific characteristics to identify the species. [1] This lichen grows on the bark of conifers a couple inches tall. L. Columbiana’s cousin, Letharia vulpina (common name wolf lichen), has similar geographical distribution and morphological features, with the major difference being the “brown-eyes” of L. columbiana. [3]

Habitat and distribution

Letharia columbiana has a healthy distribution in subalpine forests of the United States and Canada, and are common on “high plateaus and ridges to timberline, occasional in low-elevation forests”. [4]   The same researcher cataloged the prevalence of this species throughout the Pacific Northwest, though it seemed to avoid the immediate coastline. [5]  Another article found them to be "ranging from the southern portion of British Columbia south to California and southwest through northern Idaho and western Montana". [6]

Taxonomy and similar species

This species was first described in 1834 as the only lichen in a paper by Thomas Nuttall. [7]

Letharia vulpina Letharia vulpina JHollinger crop.jpg
Letharia vulpina

Letharia, a fruticose genus of lichenized Ascomycetes, was historically believed to include only L. vulpina and L. columbiana.  However, in 2016 an article published in The Lichenologist used molecular sequencing data to settle taxonomic differences within Letharia.  Their results showed independence of four different species that had previously been described under L. columbiana. L. gracilis had already achieved species recognition, and the article described for L. lucida, while advocating for formal recognition of L. barbata and L. rugosa, following additional studies of “diagnostic characters, ecological preference, and distributions”. [1]   These species have similar geographical distributions and habitats.

L. columbiana is frequently incorrectly identified as Vulpicida canadensis (common name Brown-eyed Sunshine Lichen, another wolf lichen), due to similar surface coloring and the same brown-eye structures.  However, this species has a more flattened, round surface. 

Description

Sharing the common characteristics of lichens, this Ascomycete grows 3–11 cm from the bark on which it is attached.  The intricate and divaricate ramified thallus produces these irregular branches, 0.5–3 mm wide, with uneven thickness, and a bright yellow-green color. [2]   In the midst of these spiky branches are the “brown eyes”, or the fruiting bodies, whose function it is to make spores for reproduction. L. vulpina has no such brown eyes or spores and therefore does not reproduce sexually. [3] This is one way to differentiate the two species.

Life cycle and reproduction

Lichens are a combination of fungus and algae (sometimes cyanobacteria), but only the fungus reproduces sexually with the presence of spores.  The new ascospores now need to find a symbiotic relationship with a new algal species. [3]  L. columbiana lacks abundant asexual structures, and in turn bears apothecia, a type of Ascocarp.  Apothecium is a wide, saucer-like fruiting body containing three parts: a hymenium, hypothecium, and excipulum.  The hymenium consisting of asci is the fertile layer of the structure.  Different apothecia may employ different dispersal strategies, and therefore the arrangement of asci within them may be different, but there is not sufficient research on the asci of L. columbiana to determine their arrangements.

Vulpinic acid

Vulpinic acid Vulpinic acid.svg
Vulpinic acid

A common characteristic of Letharia is the presence of vulpinic acid, a secondary metabolite of the symbiosis between fungi and algae.  Its biological function is hypothesized to be a repellant against grazing herbivores. [8]  L. columbiana was used for its vulpinic acid,  by Native Americans and Northern Europeans for poison-tipped arrows.  Vulpinic acid is poisonous to all meat-eaters such as humans and carnivorous mammals, but not to rodents. [8]

Some other Natives Americans used the lichen in medicine, balms, or as a source of dyeing water with its recognizable bright-yellow color. [6]

Ecological Impact

Observing the ecological implications of lichens allows scientists to study the health of conifer forests.  Due to the positive correlation between forest age and lichen biomass, lichen diversity and abundance are highly dependent on preserving habitats and existing L. columbiana populations. [9]   Human mediated dispersal is a suggested method of propagation and maintaining the health of the species.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vulpinic acid</span> Chemical compound

Vulpinic acid is a natural product first found in and important in the symbiosis underlying the biology of lichens. It is a simple methyl ester derivative of its parent compound, pulvinic acid, and a close relative of pulvinone, both of which derive from aromatic amino acids such as phenylalanine via secondary metabolism. The roles of vulpinic acid are not fully established, but may include properties that make it an antifeedant for herbivores. The compound is relatively toxic to mammals.

<i>Lobaria pulmonaria</i> Species of lichen

Lobaria pulmonaria is a large epiphytic lichen consisting of an ascomycete fungus and a green algal partner living together in a symbiotic relationship with a cyanobacterium—a symbiosis involving members of three kingdoms of organisms. Commonly known by various names like tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, lungwort lichen, oak lungs or oak lungwort, it is sensitive to air pollution and is also harmed by habitat loss and changes in forestry practices. Its population has declined across Europe and L. pulmonaria is considered endangered in many lowland areas. The species has a history of use in herbal medicines, and recent research has corroborated some medicinal properties of lichen extracts.

<i>Letharia vulpina</i> Species of lichen

Letharia vulpina, commonly known as the wolf lichen, is a fruticose lichenized species of fungus in the family Parmeliaceae. It is bright yellow-green, shrubby and highly branched, and grows on the bark of living and dead conifers in parts of western and continental Europe and the Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains of North America. This species is somewhat toxic to mammals due to the yellow pigment vulpinic acid, and has been used historically as a poison for wolves and foxes. It has also been used traditionally by many native North American ethnic groups as a pigment source for dyes and paints.

<i>Xanthoparmelia chlorochroa</i> Species of lichen

Xanthoparmelia chlorochroa, known as the tumbleweed shield lichen or ground lichen, is a foliose lichen in the Parmeliaceae family. It is not fixed to a substrate, and blows around in the wind from location to location.

<i>Cladonia furcata</i> Species of fungus

Cladonia furcata or the many-forked cup lichen is a species of cup lichen in the family Cladoniaceae. It has an intermediate to tolerant air pollution sensitivity. Extracts of this species have been shown to kill leukemia cells in vitro, and may have possible value in the treatment of cancer.

<i>Vulpicida</i> Genus of lichen

Vulpicida is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Parmeliaceae. Circumscribed in 1993 to contain species formerly placed in Cetraria, the genus is widespread in Arctic to northern temperate regions, and contains six species. The genus is characterized by the presence of the secondary metabolites pulvinic acid and vulpinic acid, compounds that when combined with usnic acid, give the species their characteristic yellow and green colors.

<i>Nephroma</i> Genus of lichens in the family Parmeliaceae

Nephroma is a genus of medium to large foliose lichens. The genus has a widespread distribution. They are sometimes called kidney lichens, named after the characteristic kidney-shaped apothecia that they produce on the lower surface of their lobe tips, which often curl upwards and thus are visible from above. Sterile specimens that do not have apothecia can look somewhat like Melanelia, Peltigera, Platismatia, or Asahinea. Most species grow either on mossy ground or rocks, or on trees.

<i>Menegazzia terebrata</i> Species of lichen

Menegazzia terebrata is a species of foliose lichen found scattered across many continents, including North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

<i>Phacopsis</i> Genus of fungi

Phacopsis is a genus of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungi. They are parasites of members of the large lichen family Parmeliaceae, of which they are also a member. Originally proposed by Edmond Tulasne in 1852 to contain 3 species, Phacopsis now contains 10 species, although historically, 33 taxa have been described in the genus. Many of the species are poorly known, some of them having been documented only from the type specimen.

<i>Pilophorus acicularis</i> Species of fungus

Pilophorus acicularis, commonly known as the nail lichen or the devil's matchstick lichen, is a species of matchstick lichen in the family Cladoniaceae.

Lichens of the Sierra Nevada have been little studied. A lichen is a composite organism consisting of a fungus and a photosynthetic partner growing together in a symbiotic relationship.

<i>Alectoria sarmentosa</i> Species of fungus

Alectoria sarmentosa is a long-lived, perennial witch's-hair lichen. It is a light greenish colored and fruticose or bushy bodied. This epiphytic lichen belongs to the family Parmeliaceae and the suborder Lecanorineae, which includes six similar species. A. sarmentosa grows draped or strung over conifer tree limbs and deciduous shrub branches in Northern temperate rainforest. This lichen favors mature and old growth, wet conifer and hardwood forests with clean air. A. sarmentosa is sensitive to air pollution and used for air quality monitoring. Areas required by A. sarmentosa are found in northern and southern temperate zones and receive high rainfall. This lichen is commonly found in transitional areas between valley and mountainous forests, but usually avoiding the immediate coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhizine</span>

In lichens, rhizines are multicellular root-like structures arising mainly from the lower surface. A lichen with rhizines is termed rhizinate, while a lichen lacking rhizines is termed erhizinate. Rhizines serve only to anchor the lichen to their substrate; they do not absorb nutrients, as do plant roots. Characteristics of the rhizines are used to identify lichens, for example, whether they are dense or sparse, uniformly distributed or clumped in specific areas, and straight or branched. Only foliose lichens may possess rhizines, not crustose or fruticose lichens, which lack a lower cortex.

<i>Punctelia rudecta</i> Species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae

Punctelia rudecta, commonly known as the rough speckled shield or the speckleback lichen, is a North American species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. This species can be readily identified by the light color of the thallus underside, the relatively large lobes at the edges of the thallus, and the tiny white pores present on the top of the thallus that are characteristic of the genus Punctelia. The lichen is quite abundant and widespread in the eastern and southeastern United States, although it also occurs in Canada and northern Mexico, but is less common in these regions. The lichen usually grows on bark, and less commonly on shaded rocks. There are several lookalike Punctelia species; these can often be distinguished from P. rudecta by differences in distribution or in the nature of the reproductive structures present on the thallus.

<i>Hypogymnia krogiae</i> Species of lichen

Hypogymnia krogiae, commonly known as the freckled tube lichen, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in North America, it was described as a new species in 1973 by Karl Ohlsson. The type specimen was collected near Cheat Bridge, West Virginia by Mason Hale in 1956.

<i>Candelaria concolor</i> Species of lichen

Candelaria concolor, commonly known as the candleflame lichen or the lemon lichen, is an ascomycete of the genus Candelaria. It is a small foliose lichen dispersed globally.

Megalospora austropacifica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Megalosporaceae. It is found on the islands of Taveuni and Viti Levu in Fiji. It has a yellowish grey to whitish grey, glossy thallus that is thick and may appear slightly wrinkled or smooth, often with irregular cracks and small papillae containing conidiomata, but lacking isidia and soredia. Its apothecia are circular, up to 4.5 mm in diameter, with the disc evolving from concave to slightly convex and coloured from orange-brown to red-brown, surrounded by a thick, prominent margin.

<i>Baeomyces heteromorphus</i> Species of lichen

Baeomyces heteromorphus is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling) lichen in the family Baeomycetaceae. It has an Australasian distribution. Characteristics of the lichen include its greenish-grey thallus, the pink to brownish discs of its apothecia, translucent spores lacking internal partitions (septa), and the presence of the secondary metabolites norstictic acid and connorstictic acid.

Buellia bahiana is a crustose-type lichen species that frequently grows on the bark and wood of trees found in coastal and inland forest habitats. This lichen species exhibits a broad geographic distribution, being documented in various pantropical and subtropical regions around the world. Specific areas where Buellia bahiana has been recorded include parts of Australia, Africa, North America, Central America, South America, and several Pacific Island chains.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Altermann, Susanne; Leavitt, Steven D.; Goward, Trevor (27 September 2016). "Tidying up the genus Letharia: introducing L. lupina sp. nov. and a new circumscription for L. columbiana". The Lichenologist. 48 (5): 423–439. doi:10.1017/S0024282916000396. ISSN   0024-2829. S2CID   88840346 via Cambridge University Press.
  2. 1 2 "CNALH - Letharia columbiana". lichenportal.org. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  3. 1 2 3 "Brown-eyed wolf lichen, Letharia columbiana". nathistoc.bio.uci.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  4. McCune, Bruce; Geiser, Linda (2009). Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest (2nd ed.). Corvallis, Oregon: Oregon State University Press. ISBN   9780870715655.
  5. McCune, Bruce (1997). Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest. Linda Geiser, Sylvia Duran Sharnoff, Stephen Sharnoff, Alexander G. Mikulin. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press. ISBN   0-87071-394-9. OCLC   36284208.
  6. 1 2 Brodo, Irwin (2001). Lichens of North America. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN   9780300082494.
  7. Thomson, John W. (Oct 1969). "Letharia californica is Letharia columbiana (Lichenes)". Taxon. 18 (5): 535–537. doi:10.2307/1218380. ISSN   0040-0262. JSTOR   1218380.
  8. 1 2 Thomas H. Nash III, ed. (1996). Lichen biology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   0-521-45368-2. OCLC   32665855.
  9. Berryman, Shanti; McCune, Bruce (2006). "Estimating Epiphytic Macrolichen Biomass from Topography, Stand Structure and Lichen Community Data". Journal of Vegetation Science. 17 (2): 157–170. doi:10.1111/j.1654-1103.2006.tb02435.x. ISSN   1100-9233. JSTOR   4499162.