Ahtiana
Ahtiana Goward, 1986
| Common name | Candlewax Lichens | |
|---|---|---|
| Field Characters | Leafy, yellow chlorolichen. Thalli appressed to ascending, lobes to 8 cm across. Upper cortex pale yellow, with or without marginal cilia or isidia. Lacking soralia and pseudocyphellae. Lower cortex tan, pale brown or more rarely olive-black, with simple rhizines. Apothecia common, relatively large, on stipes, with brown disc and nubby yellow thalline margins (lecanorine). Pycnidia common, laminal or marginal. | |
| Similar species & genera |
None provincially. Elsewhere this species may be confused with Flavoparmelia, but that genus has a C+ pink medulla and different spores. | |
| Ecology | Epiphytic or on downed wood, typically of conifers. Restricted to the mountains of Alberta, and rare provincially. | |
| Chemistry | Upper cortex KC+Y, K+ pale yellow or K-, C-, PD-, UV- (usnic acid). Medulla all spot tests negative, with aliphatic acids detectable by TLC. | |
| Molecular support |
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| Links |
Species recorded in Alberta: 2
- A. pallidula (Tuck. ex Riddle) Goward & A. Thell Syns.: Cetraria pallidula, Tuckermannopsis pallidula (Thell et al. 1995)
- A. sphaerosporella (Müll. Arg.) Goward Syn.: Parmelia sphaerosporella. CLH lists as Cetraria sphaerosporella (Müll. Arg.) McCune at present
DICHOTOMOUS KEY
1a. Thallus appressed on subalpine trees; resembling melted candlewax….Ahtiana sphaerosporella
1b. Thallus ascending, frilly, cetrarioid….Ahtiana pallidula
Resources
Thell, A., T. Goward, T. Randlane, E. I. Kärnefelt & A. Saag. 1995. A revision of the North American lichen genus Ahtiana (Parmeliaceae). The Bryologist 98: 596–605. https://doi.org/10.2307/3243591
