#Bryoria capillaris

[lichenaday]

Bryoria capillaris

Gray horsehair lichen

So, confession: This lichen may not be exactly . . . real. I mean it may not be its own species. But I am gonna talk about it as its own species since scientists are still trying to figure out how to define a lichen species anyway. This filamentous-fruticose lichen grows in dangling, hair-like tangles on hardwood and coniferous trees in humid boreal-montane forests. It is typically gray to olive-brown in color, with sun exposed morphs appearing darker brown (they are likely producing melanin to protect themselves from excess sun, just like we do!) It produces farinose soredia out of rounded openings in the thallus surface, and also has some pale openings in the thallus surface where fungal hyphae poke through (pseudocyphellae). It only rarely produces apothecia. Genetic studies are a bit muddled when it comes to the delimitation of B. capillaris--well, really they are a bit muddled for the whole genus. While B. capillaris is morphologically and chemically distinct from other Bryoria lichens, genetics place it and other European morphs under the umbrella of B.  fuscescens. So what causes B. capillaris to look so different? It may be the higher concentration of yeast found in the thallus makes in appear lighter in color compared to the darker thallus of what was once considered B. fuscescens. It could be epigenetically triggered phenotypic plasticity in response to differences in light availability and humidity. It could be that we are seeing the beginnings of evolutionary divergence, but our understanding of the genetic species complex still lumps them together, and over the next thousand years they will diverge more and more. Or something else entirely! It requires more investigation, and I look forward to us continuing to learn more from these amazing amalgamations of organisms as time goes on. 

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