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Project Noah Nature School
Alectoria sarmentosa
A light pale green fruticose lichen. This hanging hair lichen can easily reach 30 cm length. In some cases like here it seams to take over the entire tree.
Spotted this lichen growing in all the trees - mostly large fir trees in the upper valley of the Cle Elum river. Usually prefers conifers but will grow on hardwoods as well especially old growth forest in transitional areas such as valleys, but avoiding the immediate coast.
A. sarmentosa is sensitive to air pollution and used for air quality monitoring. Areas required by A. sarmentosa are found in northern and southern temperate zones and receive high rainfall.
Spotted on Nov 16, 2017
Submitted on Nov 22, 2017
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