Lichinodium canadense

Lichinodium canadense was formally described as a new species in 1968 by Norwegian lichenologist Aino Henssen. The type specimen was collected in the Fraser River basin along Highway 1; here, in a mixed forest along a riverbank, the lichen was found growing on the bark of western redcedar (Thuja plicata), along with a then-undescribed species of Parmeliella. The specific epithet canadense refers to the country in which it was first found.[1] The species has also been recorded from the Incomappleux River valley in southeastern British Columbia.[2]

Lichinodium canadense has a brownish to blackish coloured, gelatinous thallus that occurs as single rosettes with a diameter of 2–3 mm (0.08–0.12 in). The individual lobes comprising the thallus are 0.4–0.8 mm long and 0.04–0.06 mm thick; they are translucent when they are moist. The phycobiont partner is a species of Scytonema, a filamentous cyanobacteria. No apothecia have been recorded, so the lichen is only known to exist in the sterile state.[1]