Scientists have learned that a kind of lichen found in Southeast Alaska is a distinct sub-species that has evolved from the lichen of the same name found elsewhere in the world. This particular lichen has only been found in a small part of the Tongass National Forest. It also has received a new name, honoring the Tlingit people of the area.  The lichen was first discovered by a U.S. Forest Service ecologist on the Sukoi Islands near Petersburg in 1992, the first discovery of it in North America. At the time though, it was thought to be something else. “We sent it to Japan and the Japanese lichenologist said Oh yeah, this is Lobaria japonica,” said Karen Dillman of Petersburg, an ecologist with the Forest Service on the Tongass National Forest.