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Lobaria oregana

(Tuck.) Mull. Arg.

Lettuce Lichen

G5Secure Found in 126 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

LowThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.127546

Element CodeNLT0017450

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryFungus

KingdomFungi

PhylumAscomycota

ClassLecanoromycetes

OrderPeltigerales

FamilyLobariaceae

GenusLobaria

Other Common Names

Lettuce Lung (EN)

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. As supplied by USDA, NRCS from The PLANTS database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA. Version: November 19, 1997.

Conservation Status

Rank MethodExpertise without calculation

Review Date2016-08-16

Change Date2016-08-16

Edition Date2002-11-30

Edition AuthorsDaphne Stone

Threat ImpactLow

Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences> 300

Rank Reasons

This lichen species mostly occurs from Alaska to (northern?) California, west of the Cascades. Locally quite abundant in some areas but moderate threats may exist from forest fragmentation and harvest.

Range Extent Comments

AK to CA, west of the Cascades. Known east of the Cascades from only 2 sites (in BC and northern ID) (McCune & Geiser 1997). Jordan (1973) reported a restricted West Coast distribution, from northern CA to Cook Inlet, AK.

Occurrences Comments

Abundant in the Cascades of OR and southern WA. Close to 900 kg/ha standing crop in Douglas fir forest in OR (Pike et al. 1972 ). Also fairly common in the coastal forest zone of AK.

Threat Impact Comments

Fragmentation of old-growth is a threat; younger forests had a lower amount of Lobaria oregana (Sillett 1994). Sensitive to air pollution (McCune & Geiser 1997).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species in found on the branches of old-growth Douglas firs (Denison, 1979).

Terrestrial Habitats

Forest/WoodlandForest - Conifer

Other Nations (2)

United StatesNNR

CanadaN3

Province	Rank	Native
British Columbia	S3	Yes

Plant Characteristics

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (126)

Alaska (59)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bay of Pillars	Tongass National Forest	27,492
Behm Islands	Tongass National Forest	4,777
Bering Lake	Chugach National Forest	965,076
Boston Bar	Chugach National Forest	53,617
Brabazon Addition	Tongass National Forest	498,819
Castle	Tongass National Forest	49,289
Chichagof	Tongass National Forest	555,858
Chilkat-West Lynn Canal	Tongass National Forest	199,772
Cleveland	Tongass National Forest	189,447
Copper River Wetlands	Chugach National Forest	85,972
Douglas Island	Tongass National Forest	28,065
East Mitkof	Tongass National Forest	8,795
El Capitan	Tongass National Forest	26,693
Eudora	Tongass National Forest	195,022
Exit Glacier Donut	Chugach National Forest	126
Fanshaw	Tongass National Forest	48,248
Freshwater Bay	Tongass National Forest	44,933
Game Creek	Tongass National Forest	54,469
Gravina	Tongass National Forest	37,381
Hyder	Tongass National Forest	121,723
Johnson Pass	Chugach National Forest	152,508
Juneau Urban	Tongass National Forest	101,581
Juneau-Skagway Icefield	Tongass National Forest	1,187,268
Karta	Tongass National Forest	52,117
Keku	Tongass National Forest	10,869
Kenai Lake	Chugach National Forest	213,172
Kenai Mountains	Chugach National Forest	306,600
Kogish	Tongass National Forest	65,216
Kosciusko	Tongass National Forest	64,134
Madan	Tongass National Forest	68,553
Mansfield Peninsula	Tongass National Forest	54,991
Manzanita	Tongass National Forest	8,401
Middle Kruzof	Tongass National Forest	14,724
North Baranof	Tongass National Forest	314,089
North Etolin	Tongass National Forest	40,993
North Kruzof	Tongass National Forest	33,146
North Kupreanof	Tongass National Forest	114,660
North Revilla	Tongass National Forest	215,430
North Wrangell	Tongass National Forest	8,091
Pavlof-East Point	Tongass National Forest	5,399
Revilla	Tongass National Forest	29,298
Rhine	Tongass National Forest	23,010
Roaded Donut	Chugach National Forest	968
Salmon Bay	Tongass National Forest	22,793
Sheridan Glacier	Chugach National Forest	224,683
Sitka Sound	Tongass National Forest	13,459
Soda Bay	Tongass National Forest	78,091
South Kruzof	Tongass National Forest	55,193
South Kupreanof	Tongass National Forest	216,816
South Revilla	Tongass National Forest	52,105
Spires	Tongass National Forest	533,746
Taku-Snettisham	Tongass National Forest	664,928
Tenakee Ridge	Tongass National Forest	20,527
Thorne River	Tongass National Forest	72,983
Twenty Mile	Chugach National Forest	198,775
Upper Situk	Tongass National Forest	16,789
West Wrangell	Tongass National Forest	10,291
Windham-Port Houghton	Tongass National Forest	161,952
Yakutat Forelands	Tongass National Forest	323,648

California (4)

Area	Forest	Acres
Monkey Creek	Six Rivers National Forest	9,017
North Fork Smith	Six Rivers National Forest	37,898
Siskiyou	Klamath National Forest	54,039
Siskiyou B	Six Rivers National Forest	18,871

Oregon (30)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bull Of The Woods	Willamette National Forest	53
Bull Of The Woods	Mt. Hood National Forest	8,843
Chucksney Mountain	Willamette National Forest	15,369
Cougar Bluff	Umpqua National Forest	5,574
Drift Creek	Siuslaw National Forest	6,333
Eagle	Mt. Hood National Forest	16,841
Echo Mountain	Willamette National Forest	8,098
Elkhorn	Willamette National Forest	9,380
Fairview	Umpqua National Forest	7,417
French Pete (a)	Willamette National Forest	1,668
Gold Creek	Willamette National Forest	1,364
Gordon Meadows	Willamette National Forest	9,463
Lake	Mt. Hood National Forest	1,327
Larch	Mt. Hood National Forest	12,961
Mclennon Mountain	Willamette National Forest	8,085
Menagerie (rooster Rock)	Willamette National Forest	374
Middle Santiam	Willamette National Forest	7,316
Mt. Hagen	Willamette National Forest	6,406
Mt. Hood Additions	Mt. Hood National Forest	13,061
North Kalmiopsis	Siskiyou National Forests	91,560
Opal Creek	Willamette National Forest	5,417
Roaring River	Mt. Hood National Forest	27,316
Salmon - Huckleberry	Mt. Hood National Forest	17,570
Smith Umpqua	Siuslaw National Forest	7,622
Tahkenitch	Siuslaw National Forest	5,799
Tenmile	Siuslaw National Forest	10,818
Twin Lakes	Mt. Hood National Forest	6,055
Waldo - Fuji	Willamette National Forest	15,273
Waldo - Moolack	Willamette National Forest	1,183
Wind Creek	Mt. Hood National Forest	5,438

Washington (33)

Area	Forest	Acres
Backbone	Gifford Pinchot National Forest	1,201
Big Lava Bed	Gifford Pinchot National Forest	19,043
Blue Lake	Gifford Pinchot National Forest	11,359
Boulder River	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	32,563
Bourbon	Gifford Pinchot National Forest	4,512
Carlton Ridge	Gifford Pinchot National Forest	2,190
Dark Divide	Gifford Pinchot National Forest	52,483
Eagle Rock	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	34,064
Glacier Peak B	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	19,328
Glacier Peak I	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	15,175
Glacier Peak J	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	26,482
Glacier Peak K	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	47,269
Glacier Peak L	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	14,084
Green Mountain	Olympic National Forest	4,617
Jefferson Ridge	Olympic National Forest	6,512
Jupiter Ridge	Olympic National Forest	10,148
Lightning	Olympic National Forest	7,179
Moonlight Dome	Olympic National Forest	4,919
Mt. Baker Ma	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	24,847
Mt. Baker Noisy - Diobsud	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	56,039
Mt. Baker North	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	16,873
Mt. Baker West	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	25,390
Mt. Baldy	Olympic National Forest	3,557
Mt. Zion	Olympic National Forest	3,544
Pompey	Gifford Pinchot National Forest	23,985
Quilcene	Olympic National Forest	18,656
Rugged Ridge	Olympic National Forest	4,358
South Quinault	Olympic National Forest	11,081
Spencer Ridge	Gifford Pinchot National Forest	5,880
Strawberry	Gifford Pinchot National Forest	5,244
Thorp Mtn.	Wenatchee National Forest	22,717
Tumwater	Gifford Pinchot National Forest	8,676
Upper Skokomish	Olympic National Forest	9,311

References (8)

Denison, W.C. 1979. <i>Lobaria oregana,</i> a nitrogen-fixing lichen in old-growth Douglas-fir forests. In: Gordon, J. C.; Wheeler, C. T.; Perry, D. A., eds. Sympiotic nitrogen fixation in the management of temperate forests: proceedings of a workshop; 1979 April 2-5; Corvallis, OR. Corvallis, OR: Forest Research Laboratory, Oregon State University: 266-275.
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/]
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. As supplied by USDA, NRCS from The PLANTS database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA. Version: November 19, 1997.
Jordan, W.P. 1973. The genus Lobaria in North America north of Mexico. Bryologist 76(2): 225-251.
Krog H. 1968. The macrolichens of Alaska. Norsk Polarinstitutt Skrifter Nr. 144. Oslo.
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.
Pile, L.H., M.A. Sherwood, D.M. Tracy, and D. Nielson. 1972. Estimates of biomass and fixed N of epiphytes from oldgrowth Douglas fir. Pages 177-187 in J.F. Franklin, L.J. Dempster, and R.H. Waring (eds.). Proceedings: research on coniferous forest ecosystems. U.S. Forest Service, Portland, Oregon.
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.