Lichens

Kejimkujik is home to many rare and at-risk lichens, from blue felt lichen to frosted glass-whiskers.

On this page

• Morphology
• Species at risk
• Protection and management
• Blue felt lichen
• Frosted glass whiskers lichen

Morphology

Lichens are the result of a symbiotic relationship between cyanobacteria, which provides energy through photosynthesis, and fungi, which provides structure and protection. Together, they form a single living mass known as a lichen.

Lichens can be found living on rocks, tree trunks, topsoil, moss, human-made objects and even bones, among other substrate types.

They come in four primary growth forms, all of which can be spotted in Kejimkujik:

• foliose (or leaf-like)
• crustose (or crust-like)
• fruticose (or shrub-like)
• leprose (or powder-like)

Species at risk

Southwestern Nova Scotia has numerous rare lichens, many of which are considered species at risk. Several of these species persist in southwestern Nova Scotia while dramatically declining elsewhere.

Most at-risk lichens are threatened by habitat loss due to logging activity, wetland alteration and development projects.

In Kejimkujik, rare and at-risk lichens grow undisturbed by human activities. Even so, many lichens are susceptible to air pollution, acid precipitation, invasive species and changing weather trends under climate change.

Protection and management

Parks Canada and research partners undertake surveys to document examples of these rare species within Kejimkujik. Each new record improves our understanding of their distribution.

Because lichens are very sensitive to changes in their environment, staff regularly monitor the abundance and health of lichens as indicators of the overall health of Kejimkujik’s forest ecosystems.

Blue felt lichen

Blue felt lichen can be found in the rich, wet forests of Kejimkujik Seaside, growing on the trunks of broadleaf trees.

In Canada, this species only occurs in the Atlantic region and is rare even in the forests where it does occur.

Blue felt lichen has bright red reproductive structures, or "apothecia." Its body structure, or "thallus," is blue and has a characteristic velvety texture.

In 2022, blue felt lichen was designated as Nova Scotia’s provincial lichen, marking the first time a Canadian province has designated a provincial lichen.

Species at risk

Blue felt lichen is listed as "vulnerable" under Nova Scotia’s Endangered Species Act and as a species of "special concern" under Canada’s Species At Risk Act (SARA).

Frosted glass-whiskers lichen

Frosted glass-whiskers is a member of a group of obscure lichens called stubble lichens.

This miniscule lichen grows on broadleaf trees in wet, low-lying forests. Its reproductive structures are supported on stalks that grow no taller than 0.8 mm.

Frosted glass-whiskers can often be found growing in the sheltered hollows of the trunks of old red maples, especially where the trunk has split.

In Canada, frosted glass-whiskers is only found in two provinces: British Columbia and Nova Scotia. It is primarily found in Nova Scotia.

Species at risk

The Atlantic population of frosted glass-whiskers is listed as a species of "special concern" in Canada under the Species At Risk Act (SARA).