Common Macrolichens of the PNW Home Species List Identification Key Characteristics Color Chart Project Page About
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Usnea scabrata

Overview
PNW Range:
  West sideAbundant
  East sideCommon
  Immediate coastCommon
  Alpine or subalpineNone
Habitat: Mesic forests at low to mid elevations, often a dominant species in mountain forests between ca. 300 and 1000 m in western Oregon
Substrate: Bark and wood.
Comments:
Synonymy: none
Usnea scabrata - Field habit
Field habit
by B. McCune
1/5
Usnea scabrata - Branches
Branches
by B. McCune
2/5
Usnea scabrata - Habit
Habit
by B. McCune
3/5
Usnea scabrata - Habit
Habit
by B. McCune
4/5
Usnea scabrata - Branches
Branches
by B. McCune
5/5
Scale: Bar=1mm unless noted
Growth Form
Fruticose: Almost always
Foliose: Never
Crustose: Never
Appressed Foliose: Never
Fluffy Foliose or Strappy: Never
Dangling Hair: Almost always
Erect Hair: Rarely
Appressed Hair: Never
Stalks With Squamules: Never
Stalks: Never
Squamules: Never
Single Holdfast: Sometimes
Dangling Nets: Never

Upper Surface
Upper Surface Color    (Dry) 
   Pale Yellow Green: Almost always
   Pale Green: Almost always
Upper Surface Tomentose: Never
Upper Surface Pruinose or Scabrid: Never
Upper Surface with Network of Ridges: Sometimes
Upper Surface with Pseudocyphellae: Never
   Upper Surface with Holes into Cavity: Never
Cilia on Margins: Never

Interior
Inside (Medulla) Yellow or Orange: Never
Central Cord: Almost always
Hollow Stalks or Hollow Lobes: Never
Gelatinous: Never

Photobiont
Green Algae Primary Photobiont: Almost always
Cyanobacteria Primary Photobiont: Never
Internal Cephalodia: Never
External Cephalodia: Never

Chemistry
Usnic Acid: Almost always
Cortex KC+ Yellow: Almost always
Medulla P+ Orange or Red: Sometimes
Medulla K+ Orange or Red: Sometimes
Medulla K+ Yellow: Rarely
Sexual Reproduction
Perithecia: Never
Apothecia: Rarely
   Mazaedium: Never
Disk Color    (Dry) 
   Disk Pale Greenish: Almost always
   Disk Brown or Tan: Almost always

Asexual Reproduction
Isidia: Almost always
Soredia: Rarely
Lobules: Never

Usnea Specific
Papillae: Almost always
Branches Cigar Shaped: Never
Central Axis Pale Yellow: Never
Cortex Reddish in Part: Never
Central Axis Thick: Never
Main Branches Nearly Unbranched: Never
Branch Surface Wrinkled: Sometimes
Fibrils Abundant: Commonly
Copyright © 2019-2022 by Bruce McCune & Sunia Yang     Source for Habitat and Substrate: Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest    Other Rights: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International