Photograph of rightly colored lichen taken with a microscope in March, 1998
Caloplaca subsoluta, March 1998

Lichens of the Pacific Northwest

The Lichens of the Pacific Northwest Image Collection contains photos as a companion to the book by Bruce McCune, Microlichens of the Pacific Northwest (2017. Two volumes. Wild Blueberry Media, Corvallis). Photos were taken by Bruce McCune, unless otherwise indicated.

Most specimens were from the Pacific Northwest of North America, although a few are from elsewhere, as indicated. Presently this collection contains images of just microlichens (crustose and squamulose lichens), though images of macrolichens may be added as well, as a companion to Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest (McCune, Bruce & Linda Geiser. 2009. Oregon State University Press, 464 pages). Most of the images were taken through either a compound light microscope or a dissecting scope. Scale bars are 1 mm long unless otherwise indicated. Common abbreviations in the photos indicate the reagents or lighting as listed below. See either book cited above for more details. Common abbreviations: C = NaOCl (chlorine bleach); I or IKI = Iodine dissolved in potassium iodide; K = 10% potassium hydroxide; N = 6M nitric acid; P = para-phenylenediamine in ethanol; POL = Polarized light; UV = Ultraviolet light.

For more information on lichens of the Pacific Northwest, see the Northwest Lichenologists website (www.nwlichens.org) and Bruce McCune’s website (http://bmccune.weebly.com/) Bruce McCune is a professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University.

Topics: