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affinity of Ochrolechia upsaliensis for Selaginella wallacei

  • 02 Mar 2017 2:38 PM
    Message # 4644368

    Estimate that for 90% or more of my encounters with Ochrolechia upsaliensis it has been on Selaginella wallacei. Wonder what characteristic of the Selaginella is so attractive to O. upsaliensis. (Posted some photos from diverse locations I’ve visited where they are common - within Hells Canyon in ID, near the Columbia River in north central WA, Washington Park on Fidalgo Island WA, and high on Mt Townsend WA.) The only description of O. upsaliensis I find that mentions Selaginella is the one in McCune’s Miscellaneous Keys, along with soil, moss and plant debris. Looking at scattered collection locations on the CNALH interactive map the most common substrate for O. upsaliensis seems to be moss, with the rest including soil, humus, rock, Selaginella, bryophytes, and (my favorite) vegetabilia. About half of the O. upsaliensis photos online at Sharnoff Photos and Ways of Enlichenment have S. wallacei - all of these are from WA. Don’t see it on photos from other sites I looked at, e.g. The Lichen Herbarium, University of Olso. Anyway, this just piqued my interest.

  • 02 Mar 2017 3:27 PM
    Reply # 4644456 on 4644368
    Deleted user

    EOL has 4 photos of Ochrolechia upsaliensis: http://eol.org/pages/2860804/overview 

    They mention moss as a habitat/substrate, but give no specifics. Of the 4 photos, moss is apparent in 3. All say the moss was growing on rock.

  • 02 Mar 2017 10:59 PM
    Reply # 4645009 on 4644368

    Thanks Roger. The 1st 3 photos are of one subject from Saturna Island, BC, at different magnifications, while the 4th is from Montana. Inadvertently, EOL supports my notion, as although Selaginella is not mentioned it is present in both cases. (Easier to see viewed full size on Mushroom Observer - http://images.mushroomobserver.org/orig/45956.jpg (with Racomitrium) and http://images.mushroomobserver.org/orig/239109.jpg (with Polytrichum).



    Last modified: 02 Mar 2017 11:08 PM | Richard Droker
  • 08 Mar 2017 10:29 AM
    Reply # 4655261 on 4644368
    Deleted user

    Interesting. In general, a lot of macrolichens and microlichens in Alberta's grasslands grow on Selaginella densa. I haven't seen this mentioned in the literature, but I thought perhaps Selaginella is providing a relatively stable, moisture-retentive, microtopographically-rich substrate in that ecosystem. Selaginella also is more abundant here in grasslands with shorter vegetation and/or grazing, which are better for macrolichens at least.  Interesting to hear that something similar might be happening with Selaginella elsewhere. I did do some casual observation in BC's interior grasslands however and didn't see the same level of affinity there (of macrolichens for Selaginella wallacei in that region) that I see here in Alberta.

  • 14 Mar 2017 4:19 PM
    Reply # 4666963 on 4644368

    Thanks for your information and good ideas on Selaginella and lichens in Alberta and BC grasslands. I don’t know what my 3 habitats mentioned should be called. They are all rocky and somewhat dry in summer, without a lot of grasses. Posting a few more photos. (Realizing that my photos generally are either close “macro” shots or relatively distant “landscapes”, and unfortunately not finding much in between.)

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