During Week 5, we were provided with our permits to make tissue collections of Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis at sites we had selected in Mount Rainier National Park (MORA) AND North Cascades National Park (NOCA). (Very exciting!) This week, we were able to relocate and collect tissue from two of three previously known populations within MORA. Both populations hold historical significance as type localities for the species. P. rainierensis was first collected in 1948 at the confluence of the Ohanapecosh River and Panther Creek and at Tahoma Creek by Henry Allen Imshaug (1925-2010) who described the species in his 1950 paper New and noteworthy lichens from Mt. Rainier National Park. From a scientific perspective, we plan to explore how the genetic structure of P. rainiernesis populations sequestered in expansive protected forests, such as those within the boundaries of National Parks, differs from populations in forests that have been subject disturbance, e.g. logging and development, as are many of the National Forests in the United States.

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A. Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis growing along side Lobaria oregana adjacent Tahoma Creek. L. oregana is often found growing in association with P. rainierensis. B. Undergrad Stephen Sharrett documenting a P. rainierensis thallus at Panther Creek. C. A small rosette of P. rainierensis at the Tahoma Creek site. D. Evergreen alumna Franny Waldear retriving a tissue sample and voucher specimen at the Tahoma Creek site. E. Large P. rainierensis thallus growing on Alnus rubra along Tahoma Creek. (All photos courtesy of S. Sharrett)