Numerous people have asked about the recent finds of Pseudocyphellaria mallota in the Pacific Northwest. Tor Tonsberg originally reported it from the Olympic Peninsula (Tonsberg, T. 1999. Pseudocyphellaria arvidssonii new to Africa, and P. mallota new to North America. Bryologist 102:128). Since then Alexander Mikulin and Andrea Ruchty found it in a NWL certification plot at the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest in the Oregon Cascades. This prompted a series of finds in rapid succession. Richard Helliwell collected it in the North Umpqua watershed, Teman Erhart has collected it in the McKenzie watershed, and Martin Hutten has six locations for it on the Olympic Peninsula. Tor tells me that he has also found it in Alaska.
The following excerpt from Tonsberg (1999), by permission of The Bryologist. (Thanks to Tor Tonsberg and The Bryologist for allowing us to include these excerpts).
PSEUDOCYPHELLARIA MALLOTA (Tuck.) H. Magn.
"This species is characterized by a cyanobacterial photobiont, a white medulla, coarsely erumpent laminal and marginal soralia with coarse, brown, coralloid-isidioid consoredia (see Tonsberg 1992: 34-37; Budel & Scheidegger 1996: 63-64) and/or dorsiventral phyllidia, a grey to brown upper surface with scattered, coarse, tapering hairs, lower surface with scattered yellow pseudocyphellae; some soralia eroded-yellow; tips of consoredia/phyllidia sometimes with coarse hairs. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of the Southern Hemisphere material are provided by Galloway (1986, 1992). Pseudocyphellaria mallota is distinct from P. crocata (L.) Vain., e.g., by the presence of distinct erect hairs on the upper surface, as well as in being destitute of depsides, depsidones and triterpenoids (Galloway 1986)."
"The North American specimen is up to 4 cm in diameter and in diagnostic features well in accordance with the descriptions of Southern Hemisphere material. The specimen was found in the seasonal rain forest zone of the temperate rain forests ... in an open Alnus rubra grove in a shallow creek valley near a road at about 120 m altitude and about 18 km from the Pacific Ocean. The Alnus specimens were young. The area has been subjected to intense clear-cut logging in the past and P. mallota is apparently not a species of old-growth forests. The locality is rich in corticolous lichens with a demand for high humidity..."
Pseudocyphellaria mallota was previously known with certainty only from southwestern South America from Argentina and Chile as far north as about 30oS and is here reported as new to the Northern Hemisphere from North America. In South America it is a species of rocks, stumps and twigs of small trees and shrubs (Galloway 1992). It often occurs in areas of forest disturbance and regeneration in open and humid situations (a habitat description that fits well with that of the North American population as well). With the specimen cited below P. mallota shows a southwest South America to western North America disjunct distribution..."
"Specimen examined: U.S.A. WASHINGTON. Jefferson Co., Olympic Peninsula, Tonsberg 25600 (BG)."
The first Oregon location was on a SW sloping ridge at 610 m. The stand is of mixed ages, with large, emergent Pseudotsuga over a mixture of younger Tsuga and Pseudotsuga. P. mallota occurred on the edge of the stand where there was a dense understory of Rhododendron.
The Oregon specimens are greyer and smaller than typical P.
crocata. It looks like a little scrap of Lobaria hallii
from the top but it has yellow pseudocyphellae below. At present
this is one of our rarest macrolichens. On the other hand, now
that we know about it, there should be more finds in the coming
years.
LITERATURE CITED
BUDEL, B. & C. SCHEIDEGGER. 1996. Thallus morphology and
anatomy, pp. 37-64. In
GALLOWAY, D.J. 1986. Non-glabrous species of Pseudocyphellaria
from southern South America. Lichenologist 18: 105-168.
-----. 1989. Nomenclatural notes on Pseudocyphellaria IV:
Some South American taxa. Lichenologist 21: 88-89.
-----. 1992. Studies in Pseudocyphellaria (lichens) III.
The South American species. Bibliotheca lichenologica 46: 1-275
+ 44 plates.
TONSBERG, T. 1992. The sorediate and isidiate, corticolous, crustose
lichens in Norway. Sommerfeltia 14: 1-331.