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Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm.

Lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs

KingdomFungiMushrooms, lichens, gel fungi, yeasts, and molds; also called eukaryotes
DivisionAscomycotaSac fungi
SubdivisionPezizomycotinaSac fungi with filaments
ClassLecanoromycetes“Lichenized” fungi
OrderLecanoralesMostly lichen-forming fungi
SuborderPeltigerineaeA lichenized group of fungi, named for the genus Peltigera
FamilyLobariaceaeA lichenized family of fungi
GenusLobariaLatin for “lobed”
SpeciespulmonariaFrom the Latin pulmo, “lung,” for its resemblence to lungs

About plant names...

According to the ancient doctrine of signatures, plants that resembled portions of human anatomy were thought to be meant to cure those parts. Lungwort's resemblance to lungs resulted in its attempted use as a cure for various respiratory ailments. It is found in North America as well as Asia, Europe and Africa, in damp old growth forests such as the pacific northwest. (There is another completely unrelated plant that is also called lungwort.)

Most lichens are "collaborations" between a fungus and an algae; while lungwort is a symbiosis of three unrelated plants, cyanobacteria being the third. The fungal component brings a tough protective cover to the plant, while the algae and cyanobacteria provide the power plant, via photosynthesis.

Identification: Lungwort's leathery, leaflike lobes, spotted with depressions, look a little like a cross between oak leaves and seaweed. They are green when wet, like the fog-fed images at right, fading to olive brown when dry. The reproductive structures, called soredia and isidia, are visible as bumps in photo 8. Lungwort prefers damp areas.

Online References:

Stephen Sharnoff Photography

Wikipedia

Alan Silverside's Lichen Pages on LastDragon.org

Stephen and Sylvia Sharnoff's lichen.com site

Discover Life

Wikispecies

References:

Walewski, Joe, Lichens of the North Woods, Kollath+Stensaas Publishing, 2007, p. 110

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

1 · 9/18/2016 · Barred Island Preserve, Deer Isle, Maine

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

2 · 9/21/2023 · Borestone Mountain, Elliotsville, Maine · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm)

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

3 · 6/13/2021 · Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 2″ (9 × 6 cm)

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

4 · 9/18/2016 · Barred Island Preserve, Deer Isle, Maine

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

5 · Doesn’t look very interesting when it is dried out. · 4/19/2014 · Birch Point State Park, Owls Head, Knox County, Maine

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

6 · 4/3/2010 · Birch Point Beach State Park, Owl’s Head, Maine · ≈ 1 × 2′ (41 × 62 cm) ID is uncertain

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

7 · 10/1/2023 · Mill Pond Preserve, Arrowsic, Maine

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

8 · 4/3/2010 · Birch Point Beach State Park, Owl’s Head, Maine · ≈ 4 × 2½″ (11 × 7.3 cm) ID is uncertain

Sticta pulmonaria (L.) Biroli

 

Lobaria pulmonaria description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 17 Oct 2023.

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Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

9 · 9/18/2016 · Barred Island Preserve, Deer Isle, Maine

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

10 · 4/3/2010 · Birch Point Beach State Park, Owl’s Head, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.9 cm) ID is uncertain

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

11 · 10/10/2021 · 88 Wilderness Lane, Norway, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.9 cm)

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

12 · 10/1/2023 · Mill Pond Preserve, Arrowsic, Maine

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

13 · 10/10/2021 · 88 Wilderness Lane, Norway, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.9 cm)

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

14 · 4/3/2010 · Birch Point Beach State Park, Owl’s Head, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 2″ (8.8 × 5.9 cm) ID is uncertain

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

15 · 6/13/2021 · Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 6 × 3½″ (14 × 9.4 cm)

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

16 · Doesn’t look very interesting when it is dried out. · 4/19/2014 · Birch Point State Park, Owls Head, Knox County, Maine

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

17 · Doesn’t look very interesting when it is dried out. · 4/19/2014 · Birch Point State Park, Owls Head, Knox County, Maine · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm)

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

18 · 4/3/2010 · Birch Point Beach State Park, Owl’s Head, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 2″ (8.8 × 5.9 cm) ID is uncertain

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

19 · 9/18/2016 · Barred Island Preserve, Deer Isle, Maine

Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort, tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, oak lungs)

20 · 10/6/2023