General: Common Name: The Lung Lichens. Traditional, based on the resemblance of certain species to lung tissue. Medium to large stratified foliose lichens, corticate above and below, sorediate or isidiate or not, sometimes bearing internal cephalodia, lobes loosely attached, short to subrotund or occasionally elongate, averaging to (0.6–) 1–20 (–30) mm wide, thin. Upper surface greyish, greenish or brownish, shiny to dull, often net-ridged/reticulate. Lower surface tomentose, tomentum often interrupted by white naked patches. Medulla white. Photobiont green and/or blue-green. Apothecia located near lobe margins, disc usually reddish brown; spores (2–) multi-celled, spindle-shaped to needlelike, usually colourless when mature, 8 per ascus. Over trees, rarely over rock. Notes: Lobaria is a cosmopolitan genus consisting of approximately 80 species. Eleven of these occur in North America and six in B.C.
Species description: Photobiont a grass-green alga; upper surface usually greenish, never textured/scabrid AND Upper surface bluish green or at least not distinctly yellowish green; lobe margins not at all lobulate; widespread in humid localities AND Isidia and/or soredia present; medulla K+ yellow or orange
Reactions: Medulla K+ yellow, PD+ orange.
Contents: Constictic, norstictic and stictic acids and one unidentified substance.
If more than one illustration is
available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two
subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below.
Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Habitat: Frequent over trees and mossy rocks in open to shady forests in humid localities at lower elevations throughout, except essentially absent from boreal regions
World Distribution: incompletely circumpolar, S to CA.
