The Cladoniaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Lecanorales, comprising about 560 species distributed amongst 18 genera. This family is one of the largest among lichen-forming fungi and is globally distributed, from Arctic tundra to tropical rainforests, favouring humid environments while being intolerant of arid conditions. Molecular phylogenetics has significantly advanced the understanding of their complex taxonomic history, revealing intricate evolutionary relationships and leading to a refined classification. Notable members include reindeer moss and cup lichens of the genus Cladonia, which consist of about 500 species and forms a significant part of the diet for large mammals in taiga and tundra ecosystems.
Usnea is a genus of fruticose lichens in the large family Parmeliaceae. The genus, which currently contains roughly 130 species, was established by Michel Adanson in 1763. Species in the genus grow like leafless mini-shrubs or tassels anchored on bark or twigs. Members of the genus are commonly called old man's beard, beard lichen, or beard moss.
Irwin Murray Brodo is an emeritus scientist at the Canadian Museum of Nature, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is an authority on the identification and biology of lichens.
Bryoria fremontii is a dark brown, horsehair lichen that grows hanging from trees in western North America, and northern Europe and Asia. It grows abundantly in some areas, and is an important traditional food for a few First Nations in North America.
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.
Pseudephebe is a genus of fruticose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It contains three species that grow on rocks.
Xanthoparmelia is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. This genus of lichen is commonly found in the United States, South America, southern Africa, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Gowardia is a genus of medium-sized, greyish hair lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It is a circumpolar genus, mainly restricted to arctic-alpine habitats in northern Canada, Europe, and Russia.
Bryoria is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Parmeliaceae. Many members of this genus are known as horsehair lichens. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in boreal and cool temperate areas.
Alectoria is a genus of fruticose lichens belonging to the family Parmeliaceae.
Lichens are symbiotic organisms made up of multiple species: a fungus, one or more photobionts and sometimes a yeast. They are regularly grouped by their external appearance – a characteristic known as their growth form. This form, which is based on the appearance of vegetative part of the lichen, varies depending on the species and the environmental conditions it faces. Those who study lichens (lichenologists) have described a dozen of these forms: areolate, byssoid, calicioid, cladoniform, crustose, filamentous, foliose, fruticose, gelatinous, leprose, placoidioid and squamulose. Traditionally, crustose (flat), foliose (leafy) and fruticose (shrubby) are considered to be the three main forms. In addition to these more formalised, traditional growth types, there are a handful of informal types named for their resemblance to the lichens of specific genera. These include alectorioid, catapyrenioid, cetrarioid, hypogymnioid, parmelioid and usneoid.
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.
Xanthoparmelia lineola, commonly known as the tight rock-shield, is a foliose lichen species in the genus Xanthoparmelia. It is a common species with a temperate distribution. Found in North America and South Africa, it grows on rocks.
Flavopunctelia soredica is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first described as Parmelia soredica by Finnish botanist William Nylander in 1872. In 1982, Hildur Krog transferred it to the subgenus Flavopunctelia of her newly circumscribed genus Punctelia, created to contain Parmelia species with punctate (point-like) pseudocyphellae. Mason Hale raised this subgenus to generic status a couple of years later. The lichen is colloquially known as the powder-edged speckled greenshield. It is widely distributed, having been recorded from North America, South America, South Africa, India, Russia, China and Japan.
Hypotrachyna osseoalba, commonly known as the grainy loop lichen, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is widely distributed in subtropical and temperate areas of the world. Characteristic features of the lichen include the pustules in its cortex, the somewhat linear shape of the lobes comprising the thallus, and the branched rhizines.
Gowardia nigricans, commonly known as the gray hair lichen or gray witch's hair, is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae.
Jan Bystrek was a Polish botanist and professor of natural sciences. He was employed at the Department of Systematic and Geography of Plants at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University from 1956 until 2004. He published research in many fields, including botany, floristry, lichenology, systematics, environmental protection, biogeography, ecology, bioindication, and nature and landscape protection. He was involved in popularizing knowledge about nature and ecological education.
Sulcaria spiralifera is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. First described in 1977 as a species of Bryoria, it was transferred to the genus Sulcaria in 2014 based on DNA analysis. The species comprises two chemical variants now recognized as varieties: the typical variety and var. pseudocapillaris, which differ in their chemical composition and spot test reactions. It is found in the northwestern United States, where it grows as an epiphyte, hanging from a variety of tree species in open or shaded maritime forests. The lichen is characterized by its pendulous brown thallus with spiral-arranged white pores (pseudocyphellae) on its surface, extending 4–12 cm in length.
Sulcaria isidiifera, commonly known as the splitting yarn lichen, is a rare species of pendent (hanging) fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It has a dull yellowish-white to light brown and reddish-brown thallus and is typically 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) long. It is only known to occur in the Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve, in the Central Coast of California region, where it grows on a variety of shrubs.
Alectoria imshaugii, commonly known as spiny witches hair, is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae that occurs in North America. It was described as a new species by the lichenologists Irwin Brodo and David L. Hawksworth in their 1977 monograph on the genus Alectoria. The species epithet honors Henry Andrew Imshaug. The variety venezuelensis, proposed in 1994, occurs in Venezuela.
