Vagrant lichens in North America

Publication Type:

Journal Article

Authors:

Rosentreter, Roger

Source:

Bryologist, American Bryological and Lichenological Society, Inc., Volume 96, Issue 3, p.333-338 (1993)

Call Number:

A93ROS01IDUS

URL:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3243861

Abstract:

Vagrant lichen taxa are presently recognized in several genera. Xanthoparmelia contains the largest number of vagrant taxa and is the most widely distributed geographically, with vagrant taxa represented in several habitats in North America and other continents. Aspicilia has the second largest number of vagrant taxa worldwide, including A. fruticulosa (Eversm.) Flagey, reported new for North America from Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. Habitat supporting vagrant lichens is typically windswept, semi-arid, and sparsely vegetated. In some areas attached, erratic, and vagrant taxa of Rhizoplaca occur sympatrically. Environmentally modified erratic forms of attached taxa of Dermatocarpon, Lecanora, and Umbilicaria occur in habitats occupied by vagrant taxa. Reproduction in vagrant lichens is typically by large unspecialized vegetative fragments. Due to widescale land disturbance, livestock grazing, and the dispersal strategies of vagrant lichens, some taxa are so fragmented in their distribution that they may become extinct.