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A survey of the lichens of Mount Mitchell State Park, North Carolina, published in 2017, recovered 171 species and reported 27 historically reported taxa missing. Here we report 72 lichen taxa as new for the park—based on both recent and historical specimens—for a total of 243 total taxa reported for all time points. In addition, 13 of the 27 taxa reported missing for the park in the 2017 survey were rediscovered. Most of these were found by either investigating non-spruce-fir substrates, which was the focus of the most recent survey in 2016, or returning to localities where historical specimens had previously been collected and intensively searching for the species. A revised list of 27 taxa that have not been seen since at least the early 1970s is presented, nine of which belong to the speciose genus Cladonia. The updated checklist for the park contains a surprisingly high level of cyanolichen diversity, suggesting the impacts of pollution and invasive insects on the lichen biota of the park are not as severe as previously thought. Molecular data (nrITS) confirm that Parmelia neodiscordans is distinct from other species of Parmelia and suggest that Appalachian material identified as P. omphalodes may be conspecific with the eastern Asian species P. ‘fertilis B’. Lastly, five rare lichens recorded from the park (Alectoria fallacina, Hypotrachyna densirhizinata, Lobarina scrobiculata, Nephroma parile and Parmelia neodiscordans) are proposed for conservation at the state level. 

Summary Powdery mildew is an economically important disease caused byc. 1000 different fungal species.Erysiphe vacciniiis an emerging powdery mildew species that is impacting the blueberry industry. Once confined to North America,E. vacciniiis now spreading rapidly across major blueberry‐growing regions, including China, Morocco, Mexico, and the USA, threatening millions in losses.This study documents its recent global spread by analyzing both herbarium specimens, some over 150‐yr‐old, and fresh samples collected world‐wide.Our findings were integrated into a ‘living phylogeny’ via T‐BAS to simplify pathogen identification and enable rapid responses to new outbreaks. We identified 50 haplotypes, two primary introductions world‐wide, and revealed a shift from a generalist to a specialist pathogen.This research provides insights into the complexities of host specialization and highlights the need to address this emerging global threat to blueberry production.