Cladonia portentosa ssp. pacifica #

Taxa #

Cladonia portentosa ssp. pacifica f. decolorans, Cladonia portentosa ssp. pacifica f. pacifica

Organization #

Clade Impexae (Stenroos et al. 2018)

Identification #

Cladonia portentosa ssp. pacifica is the only subspecies of C. portentosa found in Alaska. It branches from main axils and is very similar in appearance to C. rangiferina and C. ciliata. Those species have a more unidirectionally-combed appearance to the branch tips. In C. portentosa ssp. pacifica, the branch tips project in all directions and are not so conspicuously browned. The form f. decolorans in completely white, not at all greenish, yellowish, or brown.

Substrate #

bryocolous, terricolous

Chemical Tests #

thallus: K-, C-, KC- or KC+ yellow, Pd-, UV+ “blue-white” (Brodo et al. 2001)

Notes #

A coastal species found throughout SE Alaska north to the Chugach Range and from the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands. It ranges northward to at least the southern slope of the Brook Range (CLH).