RAMALINA POLLINARIA (Westr.) Ach.

Chalky Ramalina

 

 

FAMILY: Ramalinaceae

HABIT: A small, yellow-green fruticose lichen with flattened branches. Tips of branches widened, recurved and usually sorediate.

SIMILAR SPECIES: R. farinacea, found on bark or weathered wood; R. intermedia, branch tips attenuated; R. petrina, different chemistry.

TOTAL RANGE: Boreal and northeastern U.S. Listed as rare by Hale (1979).

STATE RANGE: One pre-1945 record from Cuyahoga County; recent (1993) records from Gallia, Hocking and Meigs counties.

STATE STATUS: 1992-1993: Added, 1994-1997: Threatened, 1998 to present: Endangered.

HABITAT: Listed as rock and bark in sheltered areas. Recent Ohio collections have all been from sandstone, either cliff face or boulders below a cliff. Prefers light shade.

HAZARDS: Habitat destruction.

RECOVERY POTENTIAL: Unknown.

INVENTORY GUIDELINES: Collect several thalli and store in paper herbarium packet.

COMMENTS: Even where apparently good habitat exists this species is found only in small patches.

SELECTED REFERENCES:

 

Hale, M.E. 1979. How to know the lichens. Wm. C. Brown Company Publishers. Dubuque, Iowa. 246 pp.

Taylor, C.J. 1968. Lichens of Ohio. Part 2. Fruticose and cladoniform lichens. Ohio Biological Survey Biological Notes No. 4.

 

 

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Division of Natural Areas and Preserves

Created: 3/1995 Ray Showman

Database Code: SPQD.L10