Letharia columbiana (Nutt.) J.W. Thomson, 1969
| Common name | Brown-eyed Wolf Lichen | Code: LETHCOL
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|---|---|---|
| Field Characters | Fruticose, shrubby chlorolichens. Bright, chartreuse yellow. Branching abundantly, branches angular and ridged, moderately stiff but still pliable. Cortex typically soft and dull. Medulla loose and cottony, with strands of tough, fibrous tissue. Lacking soredia or isidia. Typically abundantly fertile with large apothecia fringed with spiny branchlets. Apothecia disk brown to black. | |
| Similar species |
Letharia gracilis: a lanky but otherwise similar species known to date from Oregon and California. Other molecular species are currently included in L. columbiana; genetic work is required. | |
| Ecology | Restricted range epiphyte, when found often abundant especially on lodgepole pines and lignum of downed wood. Restricted to the mountain regions of Alberta. Underdetected in ABMI, range map does not reflect known occurrences. | |
| Chemistry | Cortex K-, KC+ yellow, PD-, UV- (usnic acid), medulla UV- or UV+ dull white (divaricatic acid). | |
| Molecular support |
Other apparently cryptic molecular species fall under our current understanding of this species, but data to date have been too sparse to delimit them (McCune and Altermann 2009, Altermann et al. 2016). | |
| Links | ||
| Gallery |
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- Letharia columbiana apothecia close-up, ALTA collection
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- Letharia columbiana cortex close-up, ALTA collection
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- Letharia columbiana, Kananaskis Region, AB
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- Letharia columbiana, Kananaskis region, AB
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- Letharia columbiana, Oregon
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- Letharia vulpina s.l., with L. columbiana lower on branch, Kenna-Cartwright Park, Kamloops, BC
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- Letharia columbiana, Waterton National Park, AB
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- Letharia columbiana, ALTA collection
