Gowardia nigricans
Gowardia nigricans, commonly known as the gray hair lichen or gray witch's hair, is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae.
Taxonomy
The lichen was first formally described by Swedish lichenologist Erik Acharius in 1810, as Cornicularia ochroleuca var. nigricans. William Nylander promoted it to distinct species status in 1862, as Alectoria nigricans. A colloquial name used in North America for the lichen is "gray witch's hair".The form Alectoria nigricans f. goemerensis was proposed by Hungarian lichenologist Vilmos Kőfaragó-Gyelnik in 1932. The form Alectoria nigricans f. subchalybeiformis was suggested by Veli Räsänen in 1944. They are no longer considered to have independent taxonomic significance.
In 2009, Finnish lichenologists Pekka Halonen, Leena Myllys, Saara Velmala and Heini Hyvärinen proposed the new genus Gowardia, segregated from Alectoria based on phylogeny, morphology, secondary chemistry, ecology and distribution. They assigned Gowardia nigricans as the type species.
Description
The shrubby thallus of Gowardia nigricans grows erect or tangled on the ground. Its main branches vary in colour from pale pinkish to nearly black, but they always have black branch tips. The surface is almost always dull. Large brown apothecia are sometimes produced.The expected results of standard chemical spot tests are: cortex and medulla PD+, K+, KC+, C+. The colour reactions in very dark specimens can be difficult to visualize.
Habitat and distribution
Although Gowardia nigricans typically grows on the soil, often in tundra heath, it sometimes grows on the low branches of trees or shrubs.In Antarctica, it is found in the South Orkney Islands. It has also been recorded from Greenland and New Zealand.