Description: Lichen. Thallus fruticose, grey-green, tufty, subpendulous to pendulous, 4 - 8 cm long, exceptionally to 32 cm; branching dichotomous, sparse to moderately dense but extremely variable; branch width (0.5 -) 1 - 4 mm, branches compressed, flat, some splitting along the margins; broad in the basal region but gradually narrowing towards the apices or narrow in the basal region and continuing the same width to the apices; apices attenuate, mostly forked; cortex matt or shiny, smooth or with linear pseudocyphellae slightly or strongly developed; holdfast delimited; soralia marginal and laminal, round to ellipsoid, often coalescing, the edges revolute. Apothecia rare, marginal, disc 1 - 3 mm diam., concave, plane to convex, with edges sometimes incised at maturity; spores fusiform or ellipsoid, straight or very slightly curved, 12 - 16 (- 20) x 4 - 6 µm.

Photobiont: Data lacking.

Chemistry: Salazinic acid ± protocetraric acid and usnic acid.

Ecology: Corticolous, rarely saxicolous.

Distribution type: The distribution range of R. pacifica covers an area which is mainly subtropical to warm temperate, although several collections have been made in tropical Australia, e.g. Hinchinbrook I. (latitude 18°S) and Shute Harbour (latitude 20°S). In these areas the rainfall exceeds 2000 mm p. a. and the thalli are very narrow and delicate with smooth, shiny surfaces, without pseudocyphellae. Collections from the drier latitudes along the Queensland coast (latitudes 22° - 24°S which receive 800 - 1100 mm p. a.) comprise thalli which produce numerous pseudocyphellae along the whole length of the branches; these thalli are generally broader than the thalli from the higher rainfall habitats.

Taxonomy: Data lacking.

Note: Asahina described Ramalina pacifica from xxx, but Stevens (1983: 226) identified material from Queensland (Australia), Natal (South Africa), Japan, Burma/Bangladesh, New Zealand, Java (Indonesia), Vanuatu (New Hebrides) and Rarotonga (Cook Islands) as pertaining to this taxon.

Distribution Database: Distributions

Distribution Database: Discover Life

Picture Database: Tropical Lichens

Molecular Database: Genbank

Synonym Database: Index Fungorum

Synonym Database: Mycobank