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Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis

Imshaug

Oldgrowth Specklebelly Lichen

G3Vulnerable Found in 7 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G3VulnerableGlobal Rank
HighThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.126647
Element CodeNLLEC3B060
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryFungus
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomFungi
PhylumAscomycota
ClassLecanoromycetes
OrderPeltigerales
FamilyLobariaceae
GenusPseudocyphellaria
Other Common Names
Pseudocyphellie des forêts surannées (FR)
Concept Reference
Esslinger, T.L. and R.S. Egan. 1995. A sixth checklist of the lichen-forming, lichenicolous, and allied fungi of the continental United States and Canada. The Bryologist 98(4): 467-549.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-02-07
Change Date2025-02-07
Edition Date2025-02-07
Edition AuthorsDaphne Stone (2002), rev. Johnson, J. (2025)
Threat ImpactHigh
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Rank Reasons
Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis is a foliose lichen endemic to the Pacific Northwest, where it occurs west of the Cascades in southeast Alaska, British Columbia, northern Oregon, and Washington. A total of about 120 sites have been documented. Surveys in the 2020s in Washington showed a decline of about 40% in the number of occupied sites. Two occurrences in British Columbia and two in Oregon are likely extirpated. This lichen is restricted to sheltered old-growth forest ecosystems at low to moderate elevations in the Coastal Western Hemlock and Montane Douglas Fir zones and is threatened by fires and logging. The species' slow dispersal due to heavy propagules may limit distribution to appropriate habitats.
Range Extent Comments
Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis is endemic to the Pacific Northwest where it occurs west of the Cascades in southeast Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon (CLH 2025). Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens collected between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, CLH 2025).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records documented between 1994 and 2025, it is estimated that there are between 103 and 120 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, SEINet 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
While many occurrences are found within protected areas, the remaining occurrences may be subject to logging. Large wildfires have burned old-growth forests at the southern edge of the species range and the southernmost occurrences may be extirpated. Climate change, including droughts and extreme temperatures, are likely driving increased fire size and intensity in the western United States (Abatzoglou and Williams 2016).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis grows in sheltered, humid old-growth conifer forest ecosystems and riparian areas within these forests. It is found at low to moderate elevations in the Coastal Western Hemlock and Douglas Fir zones. It colonizes a wide assortment of trees and shrubs, but occurs most frequently on conifers and appears to persist for some time on fallen limbs and trunks (COSEWIC 2000, CLH 2025).

Reproduction

It is very slow to establish but can become locally abundant with time (COSEWIC 2000).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - Conifer
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN2
ProvinceRankNative
British ColumbiaS2Yes
United StatesN3
ProvinceRankNative
AlaskaS2Yes
OregonS3Yes
WashingtonS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
5 - Biological resource useRestricted (11-30%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
5.3 - Logging & wood harvestingRestricted (11-30%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
7 - Natural system modificationsRestricted (11-30%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
7.1 - Fire & fire suppressionRestricted (11-30%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
7.1.1 - Increase in fire frequency/intensityRestricted (11-30%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weatherLarge (31-70%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
11.2 - DroughtsLarge (31-70%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)

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Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (7)
Oregon (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bull Of The WoodsMt. Hood National Forest8,843
Washington (6)
AreaForestAcres
CortrightGifford Pinchot National Forest3,462
Glacier Peak BMt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest19,328
Glacier Peak JMt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest26,482
Glacier Peak LMt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest14,084
SiouxonGifford Pinchot National Forest12,773
Upper SkokomishOlympic National Forest9,311
References (9)
  1. Consortium of Lichen Herbaria. 2025. https://lichenportal.org/portal/index.php (accessed 2025).
  2. COSEWIC. June 15, 2000-last update. Current Species List. Online. Available: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/species-list.html. Accessed 2000, June.
  3. Esslinger, T. L. 2018. A cumulative checklist for the lichen-forming, lichenicolous and allied fungi of the continental United States and Canada, Version 22. Opuscula Philolichenum 17:6-268. [http://sweetgum.nybg.org/philolichenum/]
  4. Esslinger, T.L. and R.S. Egan. 1995. A sixth checklist of the lichen-forming, lichenicolous, and allied fungi of the continental United States and Canada. The Bryologist 98(4): 467-549.
  5. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  6. J.T. Abatzoglou, & A.P. Williams. 2016. Impact of anthropogenic climate change on wildfire across western US forests, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 113 (42) 11770-11775. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1607171113.
  7. McCune, B. and L. Geiser. 1997. Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, Oregon. A co-publication with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 386 pp.
  8. Sillett, S. 1994. Growth rates of two epiphytic cyanolichen species at the edge and in the interior of a 700-year-old Douglas fir forest in the western Cascades of Oregon. Bryologist 97(3): 321-324.
  9. Stephen T. Sharrett, Franny Waldear, John Villella, Jessica L. Allen, Lalita M. Calabria. 2025. Decline of the globally rare old growth specklebelly lichen, <i>Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis</i>, and its implications for temperate rainforest conservation (draft, in publication 2025)