A casual lichen foray part 2: Brown foliose species
Alberta is home to a lovely diversity of brown foliose lichens in the genera Melanohalea, Melanelixia, Melanelia, Phaeophyscia, Physconia, and Tuckermannopsis. Without fail however, new students of lichenology find the 'smelly Melies' challenging. Cryptic, often camouflaging with their substrate, and requiring examination of tiny features such as skin-tag-like isidia cause consternation. But stick with it - to know them is to love them. Or at least tolerate - or maybe appreciate? Regardless, Chickakoo is home to some lovely examples of brown foliose lichens.
But first - a further caution - these species actually vary in color from grey to brown to green, depending on whether they are wet or dry, as well as the phenotypic response to the niche the colony is occupying!
Melanelixia albertana Shiny lobes sporting lovely, white, lip-like soralia, I've never seen colonies as big as those found here.
https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/259629935/original.jpg
Melanelixia subaurifera The epithet translates to "gold beneath", a squinty reference to the greenish-gold algae visible where the upper layer erodes into tiny propagules.
https://static.inaturalist.org/photos/114787335/large.jpeg
Phaeophyscia orbicularis Impressively variable, from grey to brown, or messy to tidy, look for the tell-tale circular soralia on the surface.
https://static.inaturalist.org/photos/182949950/original.jpeg
Melanohalea species. The most common epiphytic member of this species in Alberta is M. septentrionalis but Edmonton and region host some additional species that require chemistry and spore examination for certain ID.
https://static.inaturalist.org/photos/114789150/original.jpeg
Physconia species. The frost lichens are characterized by the white crystals edging their lobes and their very branchy, white-tipped rhizines. Four species make their home in Edmonton and environs.
https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/78442451/large.jpg
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