First documented occurrences of Cladonia krogiana and C. rangiformis in north America

• Main Authors: Clayden, Stephen R., Ahti, Teuvo, Pino-Bodas, Raquel, Pitcher, Mac, Løfall, Bjørn Petter, McCarthy, John W., McMullin, R. Troy
• Other Authors: Finnish Museum of Natural History
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: James C. Ledemer 2023
• Subjects: Atlantic Canada; Biogeography; Challenger expedition; Cladoniaceae; Hemiboreal zone; Introduced species; 11831 Plant biology; Canada; Norway; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10138/355843

– Cladonia krogiana, previously known only from Norway and the Czech Republic, is reported here for North America from two localities near the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada. It occurs there on open, rocky banks of clear, free-flowing rivers, habitats similar to those in which it has been found in Norway. We also document the occurrence of C. rangiformis in North America, based on collections from two localities on the southwest coast of Conception Bay, on the Avalon Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland, Canada. It is possibly an accidental, but naturalized, introduction in this area, where European settlement began in the early 1600s. A molecular phylogenetic analysis confirmed the identity of one of the Newfoundland specimens. The IGS rDNA haplotype to which it belongs is the same as the most widely distributed haplotype of C. rangiformis in Europe and Macaronesia. Previous reports of C. rangiformis for continental North America are based on misidentifications. A 19th century collection reportedly made on the island of Bermuda, while correctly identified, is of uncertain provenance. Peer reviewed