Alectoria sarmentosa (common witch's-hair lichen) is a long-lived, perennial witch's-hair lichen. It is a light greenish colored and fruticose or bushy bodied. This epiphytic lichen belongs to the family Parmeliaceae and the suborder Lecanorineae, which includes six similar species."Classification of Alectoria Ach. | USDA PLANTS." Plant Database and Classification | USDA PLANTS. United States Department of Agriculture, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. A. sarmentosa grows draped or strung over conifer tree limbs and deciduous shrub branches in Northern temperate rainforest. This lichen favors mature and old growth, wet conifer and hardwood forests with clean air.McCune, Bruce, Linda Geiser, Sylvia Duran Sharnoff, Stephen Sharnoff, and Alexander G. Mikulin. Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest. Corvallis: Oregon State UP, 1997. Print. A. sarmentosa is sensitive to air pollution and used for air quality monitoring.McCune, Bruce, Linda Geiser, Sylvia Duran Sharnoff, Stephen Sharnoff, and Alexander G. Mikulin. Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest. Corvallis: Oregon State UP, 1997. Print. Areas required by A. sarmentosa are found in northern and southern temperate zones and receive high rainfall."Witch's Hair · University of Puget Sound." University of Puget Sound, Slater Museum of Natural History. University of Puget Sound, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. This lichen is commonly found in transitional areas between valley and mountainous forests, but usually avoiding the immediate coast.
The common name for A. sarmentosa is witch's hair lichen. This common name is used for most Alectoria species. A similar-looking species commonly confused with A. sarmentosa is Usnea longissima. These lichens are similar in color and growth patterns but A. sarmentosa lacks a central chord that characterizes the genus Usnea.Pojar, Jim, A. MacKinnon, and Paul B. Alaback. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska. Redmond, WA: Lone Pine Pub., 1994. Print."Witch's Hair · University of Puget Sound." University of Puget Sound, Slater Museum of Natural History. University of Puget Sound, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Description The thalli, or body, of Alectoria sarmentosa are fruticose, stringy, and extensively branched. Each branch usually divides into two to four sections. The thicker branches are typically greater than 2.5 mm in diameter.McCune, Bruce, Linda Geiser, Sylvia Duran Sharnoff, Stephen Sharnoff, and Alexander G. Mikulin. Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest. Corvallis: Oregon State UP, 1997. Print. This Lichen is an epiphyte which means it has no roots. It depends on deriving its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain.McCune, Bruce, Linda Geiser, Sylvia Duran Sharnoff, Stephen Sharnoff, and Alexander G. Mikulin. Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest. Corvallis: Oregon State UP, 1997. Print. Color varies between species of Alectoria. A. sarmentosa has been recorded varying in color from grayish green to yellowish green,McCune, Bruce, Linda Geiser, Sylvia Duran Sharnoff, Stephen Sharnoff, and Alexander G. Mikulin. Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest. Corvallis: Oregon State UP, 1997. Print.Pojar, Jim, A. MacKinnon, and Paul B. Alaback. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska. Redmond, WA: Lone Pine Pub., 1994. Print. occasionally blackening towards the ends,McCune, Bruce, Linda Geiser, Sylvia Duran Sharnoff, Stephen Sharnoff, and Alexander G. Mikulin. Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest. Corvallis: Oregon State UP, 1997. Print. with small white raised ridges on surface.Pojar, Jim, A. MacKinnon, and Paul B. Alaback. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska. Redmond, WA: Lone Pine Pub., 1994. Print. The thalli of A. sarmentosa form extensive mats up to 10–30 cm long.Pojar, Jim, A. MacKinnon, and Paul B. Alaback. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska. Redmond, WA: Lone Pine Pub., 1994. Print.Hale, Mason E. How to Know the Lichens. Dubuque, IA: W.C. Brown, 1969. Print. These mats hang down in a pendulous fashion. Some mats can form dense collections that create curtain like formations. A. sarmentosa are prone to fragmentation by wind.Esseen, Per-Anders. "Edge Influence on the Old-Growth Forest Indicator Lichen Alectoria sarmentosa in Natural Ecotones." Journal of Vegetation Science 2006: 185. JSTOR Journals. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
Reproduction Reproduction in most other lichens is usually by tiny saucer-like fruiting bodies called apothecia.Pojar, Jim, A. MacKinnon, and Paul B. Alaback. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska. Redmond, WA: Lone Pine Pub., 1994. Print."Witch's Hair · University of Puget Sound." University of Puget Sound, Slater Museum of Natural History. University of Puget Sound, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. These bodies are relatively not seen in Alectoria species. Alectoria means ‘unmarried,’ referring to this lack of these apothecia reproduction fruiting bodies. Since it lacks these reproduction fruiting bodies, A. sarmentosa uses asexual plant propagation, when bits of it are blown off a branch and land on another branch or the same or near by conifer or shrub.
Habitat Alectoria sarmentosa ranges throughout northern hemisphere temperate rainforests. These rainforests are located in the temperate zone and receive high rainfall. They receive 846mm (minimum) to 5,600mm (maximum) annual precipitation.DellaSala, Dominick A. Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World: Ecology and Conservation. Washington, DC: Island, 2011. Print. Alectoria Ach. species and subspecies have a global range and are found in Pacific Northwest Coast forests, including Alaska, Coastal British Columbia, Oregon, Washington, and northern California, west of Alberta and Montana. It also has been identified in the Appalachian Mountains temperate rainforest of Eastern U.S. and Boreal rainforests of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Canada, as well as Scandinavian coastal conifer forests. It is common in boreal or taiga forests and prehumid rainforests. Usually found at transitions between valley and mountain forests, low to mid elevations. Avoiding the immediate coast.
Alectoria sarmentosa is commonly associated with old growth forests in these regions.McCune, Bruce, Linda Geiser, Sylvia Duran Sharnoff, Stephen Sharnoff, and Alexander G. Mikulin. Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest. Corvallis: Oregon State UP, 1997. Print. This lichen is very dependent on forest structure (Canopy height cover and composition), edge characteristics and climate.Esseen, Per-Anders. "Edge Influence on the Old-Growth Forest Indicator Lichen Alectoria sarmentosa in Natural Ecotones." Journal of Vegetation Science 2006: 185. JSTOR Journals. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. It dominates canopy gaps edges, where sunlight reaches the lower to mid levels of the forest canopy.Esseen, Per-Anders. "Edge Influence on the Old-Growth Forest Indicator Lichen Alectoria sarmentosa in Natural Ecotones." Journal of Vegetation Science 2006: 185. JSTOR Journals. Web. 18 Nov. 2014."Witch's Hair · University of Puget Sound." University of Puget Sound, Slater Museum of Natural History. University of Puget Sound, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. In these areas of old growth A. sarmentosa grows on bark and wood; found pendulously draped over branches of conifer trees, hardwood trees and deciduous shrubs. It is rarely found growing on rock or mosses over rock. It is sometimes seen on the ground due to fragmentation by wind.
Ecology Research has shown that Alectoria sarmentosa, characterized by its pale yellow-green coloration due to usnic acid, shows distinct ecological preferences from darker melanic hair lichens. Studies in coniferous forests have demonstrated that this species achieves its highest abundance in more sheltered locations, particularly on north-facing slopes and in lower canopy positions where light levels are moderate. While A. sarmentosa can successfully establish in relatively young forests (around 60 years old), it is often considered an old-growth forest associate. The species has been found to benefit from humid conditions, with its cortical structure optimized for light transmission to underlying photobionts in shaded sites. Unlike melanic hair lichens, A. sarmentosa shows less tolerance for high light exposure, especially in drier regions, due to its relatively transparent cortex when dry. This habitat preference reflects an evolutionary adaptation where its pale pigmentation and thallus structure are optimized for photosynthetic efficiency in shadier, more humid forest conditions.
Similar species Species of Alectoria include Alectoria fallacina, Alectoria imshaugii, Alectoria lata; Alectoria nigricans, Alectoria ochroleuca and Alectoria vancouvernsis."Classification of Alectoria Ach. | USDA PLANTS." Plant Database and Classification | USDA PLANTS. United States Department of Agriculture, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. The common name Witch’s Hair Lichen also applies to these Alectoria species. Another species that is superficially similar and mistaken as A. sarmentosa is various Usnea. Usnea longissima differs as it has a central chord which A. sarmentosa lacks Pojar, Jim, A. MacKinnon, and Paul B. Alaback. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska. Redmond, WA: Lone Pine Pub., 1994. Print.
Uses Alectoria sarmentosa and similar species provide reasonably good nutrition to animals and are important winter browsing vegetation. Sitka black tailed deer and Caribou eat the lichen off reachable, low branches or off of the ground when it is blown down onto the snow during winter storms."Witch's Hair · University of Puget Sound." University of Puget Sound, Slater Museum of Natural History. University of Puget Sound, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. Flying squirrels are also known to make use of Alectoria sarmentosa and other lichens in their diet and as nest material."Witch's Hair · University of Puget Sound." University of Puget Sound, Slater Museum of Natural History. University of Puget Sound, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Many indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and the Nuxalk people of Canada used the fibers of Alectoria lichens.Pojar, Jim, A. MacKinnon, and Paul B. Alaback. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska. Redmond, WA: Lone Pine Pub., 1994. Print. These fibers were especially useful for making baby diapers and bandages."Witch's Hair · University of Puget Sound." University of Puget Sound, Slater Museum of Natural History. University of Puget Sound, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. They used the fibers as aesthetic false whiskers and hair for decorating dance masks. Some interior Alaskan and Canadian people wove ponchos and footwear using fibers of Alectoria sarmentosa. This type of clothing was inferior to hides.Pojar, Jim, A. MacKinnon, and Paul B. Alaback. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska. Redmond, WA: Lone Pine Pub., 1994. Print.
Biomonitoring