Bryoria chalybeiformis, as commonly interpreted, is an almost exclusively saxicolous or terricolous species with a largely arctic-alpine distribution; it produces small amounts of fumarprotocetraric acid in the soralia. The terricolous form of B. fuscescens var. positiva, distributed from sea level to the high mountains, is distinguished by the production of abundant fumarprotocetraric acid accompanied by protocetraric acid. B. intricans appears to be closely related to B. chalybeiformis and may possibly represent an environmentally induced morphotype of it. Attention is drawn to nomenclatural problems connected with B. chalybeiformis.