Sinewed Bushy Lichen

(Ramalina americana)

Conservation Status
Sinewed Bushy Lichen
Photo by Luciearl
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Sinewed Bushy Lichen is widespread and very common. It occurs in the eastern deciduous forests of the United States and southern Canada, and in the mountainous forests of Mexico. It is very common east of the Great Plains. There are just a handful of reports in the west and those are likely a due to transport by humans. In Minnesota it is very common in the north, scattered to absent in the south. It is found on bark of old hardwood trees, usually in full sun, mostly on twigs and branches in the upper canopy but also on the trunk. It gets moisture from the air and rain, and nutrients from debris that accumulates around it (epiphytic). It is more sensitive to air pollution than most lichens, and is absent from areas with even mild air pollution.

Ramalina americana is a species complex with three forms (morphs); americana morph, asahinae morph, and sayeana morph. The americana morph, the only morph found in Canada and the United States, was formerly thought to be the European species Ramalina americana. It was recognized as a separate species in 1978.

Sinewed Bushy Lichen appears as a short, shrubby (fruticose) tuft that is usually to 13 16 (1 to 3 cm) wide, sometimes a little wider. The tuft is a cluster of numerous individual fruiting bodies (thalli). Each thallus is narrow, straight-sided (linear), strongly flattened, sparsely branched, and often lobed. It is yellowish-green, 1 64 to (0.2 to 3 mm) wide, and strongly ridged and channeled. It is solid in cross section all the way to the base. It is neither warty nor perforated. The upper surface (cortex) has numerous minute, white, openings (pseudocyphellae) that are raised or level with the thallus surface, not depressed into it.

Yellow, disk-like, spore-producing structures (apothecia) are frequent and large. They appear at or close to the tips of the branches. They are usually flat but often contorted.

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Substrate

 
 

Trees

 
     
 

Growth Form

 
 

Fruticose

 
     
 

Habitat

 
 

Full sun

 
     
 

Hosts

 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

4, 24, 26, 29, 30, 77, 81.

 
  5/30/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Widespread and very common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Fungi (fungi)  
  Subkingdom Dikarya  
  Phylum Ascomycota (sac fungi)  
  Subphylum Pezizomycotina  
  Class Lecanoromycetes (common lichens)  
  Subclass Lecanoromycetidae (shield lichens, sunburst lichens, rosette lichens, and allies)  
 

Order

Lecanorales (shield lichens, rim lichens, and allies)  
 

Suborder

Lecanorineae  
 

Family

Ramalinaceae  
 

Genus

Ramalina (bushy lichens)  
  Mycobiont Ramalina americana  
  Photobiont    
       
 

The americana morph of this lichen was formerly thought to be the European species Ramalina fastigiata. It was recognized as a separate species in 1978 based on the presence of minute openings in the cortex (pseudocyphellae), the shape of the spores, and chemistry.

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

American Cartilage Lichen

Sinewed Bushy Lichen

Sinewed Ramalina

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Apothecium

An open, disk-shaped or cup-shaped, reproductive structure, with spore sacs on the upper surface, that produces spores for the fungal partner of a lichen. Plural: apothecia.

 

Fruticose

Shrubby: referring to the growh form of lichens that may be tufted, draped, or stalked.

 

Linear

Long, straight, and narrow, with more or less parallel sides, like a blade of grass.

 

Thallus

The vegetative body of a lichen composed of both the alga and the fungus.

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

Share your photo of this fungus.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.
 
 

Luciearl

 
    Sinewed Bushy Lichen   Sinewed Bushy Lichen  
           
 

Found on oak branch.

 
    Sinewed Bushy Lichen      
           
 

lichen found on dead oak branches

 
    Sinewed Bushy Lichen   Sinewed Bushy Lichen  
           
    Sinewed Bushy Lichen      
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

 

 
           

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
 
     
     

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

Share your video of this fungus.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.
 
 

 

 
     
     
       
       
 
Other Videos
 
     
     
     

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this fungus.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.
 
  Luciearl
3/27/2023

Location: Lake Shore

Sinewed Bushy Lichen  
  Luciearl
1/8/2020

Location: Cass County

Found on oak branch.

Sinewed Bushy Lichen  
  Luciearl
10/3/2019

Location: Fairview Twp., Cass County

lichen found on dead oak branches

Sinewed Bushy Lichen  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

 

 

 

 

Binoculars


Created: 10/22/2019

Last Updated:

About Us | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved.