Gowardia nigricans
Thallus to 5(-8) cm, erect, sometimes sprawling; branching moderate, ± anisotomic-dichotomous; branches to 1.5 mm diam., mostly terete, becoming tangled, sometimes compressed basally, pink-grey to pale grey-brown towards the base, dark grey-brown to sooty grey-black towards apices, ± matt, smooth or pitted at the base; pseudocyphellae to 0.8 mm long, white, elliptical, flat or slightly convex, usually conspicuous on thicker branches. Soralia unknown in the British Isles.
Teleomorph: apothecia unknown in GB&I material.
Chemistry: cortex and medulla C+ red, K+ yellow, KC+ red, Pd+ yellow, UV– (alectorialic and barbatolic acids).
Assessed by Woods & Coppins (2012) as of Least Concern.
Bryoria bicolor has a broadly similar colour and thallus morphology to Gowardia nigricans, but differs by the absence of conspicuous pseudocyphellae, presence of short, lateral, perpendicular, spinulose branches and by being C–, K–. Alectoria species differ most obviously by their yellow-green coloration and chemistry.
In GB&I, quite widely distributed in upland areas above about 600m altitude in N England, N Wales and the Scottish Highlands, but with recent records only from Scotland.
In arctic-alpine moss-lichen heaths.