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Common name(s): English: Dune Hair Lichen

ASSESSMENT JUSTIFICATION [criteria: B2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v); C2a(i)]

Sulcaria spiralifera is a fruticose arboreal lichen that is endemic to coastal dune forests in western North America. It occurs at scattered localities from central California to Washington. It is rare throughout its range, except on the Samoa Peninsula in California's Humboldt County and on the Oregon Dunes in Coos County where it is locally abundant (Glavich 2003, 2008). This species, and its rare and sensitive ecosystem, are threatened by coastal development, climate change, and air pollution. This species is severely fragmented with an area of occupancy of only 104 km², and is therefore Endangered undercriterion B2. Its small and fragmented population containing fewer than 2,500 mature individuals also qualifies it as Endangered under criterion C2a(i).

Assessor/s: McMullin, T., Stone, D., Lendemer, J. & Allen, J.; Reviewer/s: Reese Næsborg, R.; Contributor(s): Dahlberg, A.; Facilitator(s) & Compiler(s): Chandler, A.

Bibliography:

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Brodo, I. M. & Hawksworth, D. L. (1977) Alectoria and allied genera in North America. Opera Botanica 42: 1–164.

Geiser, L.H., Glavich, D.A., Mikulin, A.G., Ingersoll, A.R. & Hutten, M. (2004) New records of rare and unusual coastal lichens from the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Evansia 21(3): 104-110.

Glavich, D.A. (2003) The distribution, ecology and taxonomy of Bryoria spiralifera and B. pseudocapillaris on the Samoa Peninsula, Humboldt Co., coastal northern California. The Bryologist 106(4): 588–595.

Glavich, D.A. (2008) Bryoria spiralifera, sponsorship for the CALS Conservation Committee. Bulletin of the California Lichen Society 15(1): 4-6.

Glavich, D.A., Geiser, L.H. & Mikulin, A.G. (2005) The distribution of some rare coastal lichens in the Pacific Northwest and their association with late-seral and federally-protected forests. The Bryologist 108(2): 241-254.

IUCN (2021) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-1. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 25 March 2021).

McMullin, R.T. (2015) California dreaming: Perspectives of a northeastern lichenologist. Bulletin of the California Lichen Society 22: 6-12.

Mote, P.W., Parson, E.A., Hamlet, A.F., Keeton, W.S., Lettenmaier, D., Mantua, N., Miles, E.L., Peterson,D.W., Slaughter, R. & Snover, A.K. (2003) Preparing for climatic change: the water, salmon, and forestsof the Pacific Northwest. Climatic Change 61: 45–88.

Myllys, L., Velmala, S., Lindgren, H., Glavich, D., Carlberg, T., Wang, L.S. & Goward, T. (2014) Taxonomic delimitation of the genera Bryoria and Sulcaria, with a new combination Sulcaria spiralifera introduced. The Lichenologist 46(6): 737-752.

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