General:
Common Name: The Moon Lichens. Suggested by the presence of numerous tiny, sunken cyphellae (“craters”) over the lower surface.
Small to medium stratified foliose lichens, corticate above and below, sorediate or isidiate or not, lobes loosely attached to semi-erect, elongate to more often rotund, averaging to 1–2 cm wide, often single-lobed or few-lobed. Upper surface usually dark brownish, greyish brown or nearly black, rarely pale green. Lower surface pale or dark, naked or more often bearing minute woolly hairs, and bearing cyphellae. Medulla white (ours). Photobiont bluegreen or green.
Apothecia not seen in the B.C. material.
Over bark, rarely also over mossy rock.
Notes: Sticta, with about 200 species worldwide, is primarily a tropical and temperate genus of the southern hemisphere. Only eight species are reported for North America and five have been documented in B.C.

Species description:
Photobiont a dark blue-green cyanobacterium; upper surface dark or at least never pale green; status various AND
Isidia or soredia present; over trees or mossy rocks at lower elevations AND
Thallus sorediate (except older soredia sometimes somewhat isidiate), soredia essentially restricted to lobe margins

Reactions:
All spot tests negative.

Contents:
No lichen substances reported.

Source:  Lichens of British Columbia

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.

Illustration By:  Trevor Goward