Short Description. Until recently we considered Usnea ramillosa Motyka to be the correct name for this taxon; Gerlach et al. (2017) synonymized U. ramillosa with U. cladocarpa and the record of this taxon, first published by Weber (1986), must therefore now be considered correct. A detailed description can be found in Herrera-Campos et al. (2001, as U. ramillosa) and Herrera-Campos (2016, as U. ramillosa). Weber (1986) based his reports on several Galapagos collections, citing material distributed as part of his exiccatae (Weber 1981; Lich. Exs. no. 507: as U. cf. cladocarpa), and three other specimens collected by Itow. The material is unfortunately heterogeneous. Only two of the specimens collected by Itow were correctly identified (material cited below). The other specimens, one collected by Itow (L-44003, COLO 192144) and another one, the exsiccatae specimen in COLO (L-40078, COLO 185980) are both misidentifications of the recently described Usnea clerciana.
Ecology and distribution. First reported from the Galapagos by Weber (1986); Gerlach et al. (2017) cite records from North America (Texas, Mexico), Central America (Costa Rica, Cuba, Jamaica), and South America (Brazil, Ecuador, possibly Chile). In Galapagos the species appears to be fairly rare; three historic and two recently collected specimens are the only confirmed records, all from shrubs and trees in the dry zone.