Scientific Name:	Dendriscosticta oroborealis (Goward & Tønsberg) B. Moncada & Lücking
Scientific Name Synonyms:	Sticta oroborealis
English Name:	lesser green moon
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference:	Tonsberg, T., and T. Goward. 2001. Sticta oroborealis sp. nov. and other Pacific North American lichens forming dendriscocauloid cyanotypes. Bryologist 104: 12-23.
Classification Level:	Species
Taxonomy Comments:	There is ongoing debate about how to treat Dendriscocaulon taxonomically. When the fungus in this lichen partnership pairs with a cyanobacterium, the tiny shrubby form characteristic of this species is formed. However, when the same fungus partners with a green algal partner, then , Sticta oroborealis, results from the partnership. Genetic studies have shown that there is no genetic variation in the fungus (Takahashi et al. 2006). Because of this, many lichen taxonomist believe that they should be given the same name for both forms and the new name Dendriscosticta has been proposed and accepted by some lichen taxonomists. However, in BC, provincial experts, Trevor Goward and Curtis Björk prefer to differentiate between the two species for conservation purposes because the forms are distinct and because the foliose form occurs less frequently (P. Bartemucci, 2020).
Species Group:	Lichen
Species Code:	DENDORO
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Plantae Ascomycota Lecanoromycetes Peltigerales Lobariaceae
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status:	G1G2 (Nov 2004)
Provincial Status:	S1S3 (Apr 2019)
BC List:	Red
Provincial FRPA list:
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status:
SARA Schedule:
General Status Canada:
Ecology & Life History
General Description:
Technical Description:
Similar Species:
Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence)	Forest / Old Forest / Facultative - frequent use
Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month)
Elevation (m) (min / max):	Provincial:
Known Pests:
Pollen Vector:
Pollinator:
Dispersal:
Provincial Inventory
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Ownership of occurrences (Known locations):
Inventory Need:
Economic Attributes
Distribution
Endemic:	N
Disjunct, more common elsewhere:	N
Peripheral, major distribution elsewhere:	N
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author:
Last Updated:
Provincial Information Author:
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Last Literature Search:
References and Related Literature
No references available

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. Species Summary: Dendriscosticta oroborealis. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 5, 2026).