Acroscyphus sphaerophoroides #

Taxon #

Acroscyphus sphaerophoroides

Organization #

Caliciales

Identification #

A fruticose species which is off white to gray in color with spectacular, conspicuous, black apothecia growing from the branching tips of coralloid mounds. Does not produce soredia. The species also lacks isidia although the young growths may appear similar to isidia.

Substrate #

In Alaska the species has only been collected from Admiralty Island where it has been found growing on rock (Anderson 2012, Spribille et al. 2023). In British Columbia the species is also found growing on snags or dead portions of living conifers (COSEWIC 2016).

Habitat #

Coniferous forests in the mountains, 900m-1300m, sandwiched in a narrow climatic zone between the hypermaritime and the continental interior (COSEWIC 2016). Should be sought in fens.

Chemical Tests #

orange core K+ deep red-purple (Brodo et al. 2001)

Notes #

It is a contender for Alaska’s rarest macrolichen and is of conservation concern. The only other U.S. state where the species is known is Washington. It has a scattered global distribution throughout all of which it is rare. The Alaskan site is the most northern known of the range.

COSEWIC. 2016. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Mountain Crab-eye Acroscyphus sphaerophoroides in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa.xi + 47 pp.

Photos #