Japewia
Crustose lichens containing a trebouxioid alga; thallus areolate, sorediate or not, brown or with both brown and yellow pigments; apothecia essentially rimless, hemispheric to flattened-convex, dark red-brown; hymenium formed of gel-embedded, moderately to densely branched and anastomosing paraphyses that often have a dark brown pigment cap at the tip; hypothecium colourless or weakly pigmented; asci broadly clavate to balloon-shaped, thick-walled all around, with a thin, IKI+ blue tholus and rounded, paler blue axial mass; spores colourless, broadly elliptical, thick-walled, non-septate.
References: Tønsberg 1992; Foucard 2001; Printzen & Tønsberg 2004.
| 1a. | Thallus sorediate, medium to dark brown, except for sheltered soredia, which are bright canary yellow; apothecia rare …Japewia subaurifera |
| 1b. | Thallus lacking soredia, green or brown, lacking yellow pigments, KC-, apothecia common …Japewia tornoënsis |
Japewia subaurifera Muhr & Tønsberg
Thallus patchy, areolate, the areoles disintegrating into piles of intense yellow soredia that turn reddish brown where exposed to air; apothecia rarely produced, dark red-brown, 0.25-0.4 mm wide, with a scarcely apparent proper rim, high convex, not constricting at the base; spores with walls 1.5-3 µ thick, broadly elliptic, 11-20 × 12-15 µ.
Reactions: Yellow pigment in soredia K- or K+ deeper yellow, C- or C+ deeper yellow, KC- or KC+ orangish, UV- or UV+ white.
Contents: Unknown xanthones and ± lobaric acid.
Habitat: On conifer bark, less often on wood, usually above the winter snowpack. All forested elevations.
Similar Species: No other species in the study area has deep yellow soredia that turn brown where exposed.
Specimens: Björk 8478; Goward 96-1220.
Local Status: Common.
Japewia tornoënsis (Nyl.) Tønsberg
Thallus medium to dark brown or red-brown, areolate or smooth in parts; apothecia 0.2-0.4 mm wide, lacking a rim, or rim scarcely developed, the disc hemispheric, usually not constricted at the base; hymenium 60-80 µ high, light to medium red-brown; upper hymenium similarly coloured to the rest of the hymenium or a bit darker; hypothecium pale red-brown; paraphyses with darkish brown pigment caps; asci less than 2 × long as wide, baloon-shaped, with thickish side walls, the walls dark blue and lacking distinct internal structures in IKI; spores 1-celled, the walls 2-3 µ thick, 15-24 × 8-15 µ.
Reactions: All spot tests negative.
Contents: No known lichen substances.
Habitat: Mostly on decorticated Pseudotsuga branches, also on bark of Pseudotsuga, Picea and Betula papyrifera. All forested elevations.
Similar Species: Lecidea rubrocastanea appears similar, but has smaller, thin-walled spores.
Specimens: Björk 15144.
Local Status: Common.
Notes: The apothecia of local material are small and hemispheric, while those of specimens from many other areas of BC are consistently larger, and material from other parts of North America are noted to be both larger (0.4-1 mm wide), and flattened.