Baden-Württemberg - Lichens of Wales

Bryoria Brodo & D.Hawksw.
(Key includes Pseudephebe)
Introduction
The separation of the genus Bryoria from
Alectoria is by the brown and gray beard lichen
characteristic. These commonly produce richly
branched to loose filamentous pendent thallus,
rarely growing short, erect bushy or ray-like, the
thallus more or less adapted to the substrate.
Like the true beard lichens of the genus Usnea,
they are in most cases attached to the substrate
only at one place with a short base. In contrast to
Usnea the filamentous thallus does not have a
tough central strand and does not produce Usnic
acid. Propagation is, as a rule, by soredia, which
are produced in rounded, projecting to split-form
soralia, rarely also taken over by isidia. In most
species apothecia are only very rarely produced.
The greatest number of the species live
epiphytically on conifer and deciduous trees,
especially on thinned sites; many of these lichens
may however also commonly cross over to
silicate rocks. The remaining are inhabitants on
silicate rock; among the indigenous species on B.
chalybeiformis is numbered in this group. The
Bryoria species lay claim to the region
mountainous sites with high precipitation; in low
precipitation regions their occurrence is limited
to humid cool valleys. B. fuscescens exclusively
shows a relatively broad ecological amplitude
and is also to be found in low precipitation
regions even in open habitats. B. bicolor and B.
smithii live on very humid, oceanic influenced
habitats. The epiphytic species avoid
eutrophication. The Bryoria species are
declining. B. fuscescens and B. capillaris are to
a high degree endangered, several are threatened
with extinction.
B. capillaris, b. fuscescens, B. implexa and B.
nadvornikiana are distributed in the boreal
conifer zone and corresponding sites in central
Europe and penetrate into the mountain forests of
the mediterranean region. B. fremnotii is also a
dweller of the boreal conifer zone, however it is
already extremely rare in central Europe. The
area of the two oceanic species B. bicolor and
B. smithii reaches from central or southern
Scandinavia over western Europe into the mild,
high precipitation region (especially in the
mountains) of central Europe. They are (almost)
entirely lacking in the mediterranean region. B.
chalybeiformis has an arctic-alpine distribution.
Of ca. 45 species occurring predominantly in
the cold and cool regions of the earth, ca. 9 are in
Germany and ca. 8 have been proven. B.
subcana is one difficult species not proven from
the region.
Genus Characteristics and Determination
Thallus bushy, richly branching, usually beardlike
pendent, rarely erect to decumbent, of
filamentous, ± rounded stems, smooth segments,
beige, gray, brown, or black, sometimes with
short branches, frequently with split-form or
warty soralia, with or without psuedocyphellia.
Thallus segments radially symmetrical, with a
cortex of periclinal elongate hyphae, medulla
almost always loosely structured. Photobiont
Trebouxia-like. Ap. lateral, rare, with permanent
to soon disappearing thalloid margin. Asci
clavate, thick-walled, Lecanora type. Sp. 1celled,
ellipsoidal. Ch: often with Atranorin,
Fumarprotocetraric acid, rarely Alectorialic acid,
Psoromic acid, or Norstictic acid.
1 Thallus (medulla) KC+ red, C+ red/C- (reaction
often very rapidly fleeting; do not add too much
C after K!), K+ yellow or K-. With (often
indefinite and sparse) pseudocyph. With
Alectorialic acid and ± Barbatolic acid or
Gyrophoric acid . 2
1* Thallus KC-, C-. Without Alectorialic acid,
Barbatolic acid, or Gyrophoric acid . 4
2 Thallus P- (only soralia usually P+ red), K- or
K+ yellowish. Thallus brown to brown- black,
similarly variable like b. fuscescens, sometimes
with short branches and twisting limbs. Limbs
very fragile. Pseudocyph. usually definite,
fusiform, whitish to brownish, often twisting
around the branches. Branching dichotomously,
branching angle rather obtuse. With Gyrophoric
acid, ± Fumarprotocetraric acid, ± Atranorin (B.
vrangiana”) . B. implexa
2* Thallus P+ intensively yellow, K+ remaining
intensively yellow, soralia P+ orange-red.
Pseudocyph. usually sparse and indefinite.
Alectorialic acid. Fumarprotocetraric acid in the
soralia . 3
3 With ± right angle oriented rigid (“thorny”),
basal somewhat constricted short branches.
Basal thallus segment usually blackish. Thallus
otherwise pale brown, pale olive-brown, pale
gray-greenish, rarely dark brown, often with rose
or violet tones, in the lower parts isotomicdichotomous
branching, toward the tip more
112