''Alectoria imshaugii'', commonly known as spiny witches hair, is a species of

fruticose lichen A fruticose lichen is a form of lichen fungi that is characterized by a coral-like shrubby or bushy growth structure. It is formed from a symbiotic relationship of a photobiont such as green algae or less commonly cyanobacteria and one, two or m ...

in the family

Parmeliaceae The Parmeliaceae is a large and diverse family of Lecanoromycetes. With over 2700 species in 71 genera, it is the largest family of lichen-forming fungi. The most speciose genera in the family are the well-known groups: '' Xanthoparmelia'' ( 82 ...

that occurs in North America. It was described as a new species by the lichenologists

Irwin Brodo Irwin Murray Brodo (born November 7, 1935 in New York City) is an emeritus scientist at the Canadian Museum of Nature, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is an authority on the identification and biology of lichens. Early life and education Brodo g ...

and David L. Hawksworth in their 1977

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

on the genus '' Alectoria''. The

species epithet Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany) ...

honors Henry Andrew Imshaug. The

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''venezuelensis'', proposed in 1994, occurs in Venezuela. The Chinese species ''

Alectoria spiculatosa Alectoria may refer to: * ''Alectoria'' (fungus), a genus of lichenized fungi * ''Alectoria'' (insect), a monotypic genus of bush crickets or katydids in the subfamily Phaneropterinae * ''Alectoria'', a genus of birds in the family Phasianidae; syn ...

'' is somewhat similar in appearance to ''A. imshaugii'', but is distinguished by its characteristic sorediate pseudocyphellae and also by having that grow over

soralia Soredia are common reproductive structures of lichens. Lichens reproduce asexually by employing simple fragmentation and production of soredia and isidia. Soredia are powdery propagules composed of fungal hyphae wrapped around cyanobacteria or g ...

References

Parmeliaceae Lichen species Lichens described in 1977 Lichens of North America Taxa named by Irwin Brodo Taxa named by David Leslie Hawksworth Lichens of Venezuela {{Parmeliaceae-stub