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Vancouver witch's hair lichen

Scientific Name: Alectoria vancouverensis

Family: Alectoriaceae

Category: Lichen

Growth: Lichenous

Duration:

Other Names:

       

Common and Vancouver Witch's Hair Lichen

This page provides information about the Witch's Hair Lichens, particularly the Common Witch's Hair Lichen (Alectoria sarmentosa) and the Vancouver Witch's Hair Lichen (Alectoria vancouverensis).

Considerations for Pets

  • As a hanging lichen, fragments of Witch's Hair may occasionally fall to the ground and could be encountered by pets, especially in areas where it grows abundantly.

Scientific Classification and Nomenclature

  • Common Witch's Hair Lichen: Alectoria sarmentosa (Ach.) Ach. Also referred to as Alectoria sarmentosa ssp. sarmentosa.
  • Vancouver Witch's Hair Lichen: Alectoria vancouverensis (Gyel.) Gyel. ex Brodo &amp D. Hawksw.
  • Family: Alectoriaceae
  • Suborder: Lecanorineae
  • Synonyms/Related Species: The text mentions other species within the *Alectoria* genus, including *Alectoria lata*, *Alectoria nigricans*, *Alectoria ochroleuca*, and *Alectoria jubata*.

Description

  • Common Witch's Hair Lichen is described as a hanging hair lichen, typically 15-30 cm long.
  • Vancouver Witch's Hair Lichen is similar but noted to be more greyish-green in color and can be coarser.
  • They are classified as fruticose lichens, brush-like in form, often without a distinct top and bottom. They are pendulous, meaning they hang downwards.

Distribution and Habitat

  • Common Witch's Hair Lichen has been observed growing on Western Hemlock trees near Juneau, Alaska, and on stone walls in the Scilly Isles, England. It also grows in temperate rainforests, including those on the Pacific West Coast of Vancouver Island.
  • Vancouver Witch's Hair Lichen is found from California to Vancouver Island.

Ecology

  • Witch's Hair Lichens are a symbiotic association of a fungus and a green alga.
  • Lichens, including Witch's Hair, are generally beneficial to trees rather than harmful. They play an important role in the ecosystem.

Quirky Facts

  • Bryoria fremontii and Alectoria jubata may have been eaten by the Vancouver Island Salish people.
  • Usnea is another species of hanging hair lichen often known as witch's hair or old man's hair.

Further Information

  • Vancouver Parks Department or the Biology department may have more information about lichens
  • Consortium of North American Lichen Herbaria map offers information about Two-toned witch's hair