The distributional ecology of 87 macrolichens is reported from 14 unmanaged mid-seral and old for-est stands along a precipitation gradient in south-central British Columbia. We used a combination ofunivariate and multivariate statistics to investigate the role of forest structure and stand age in the distri-bution of epiphytic macrolichens in interior cedar-hemlock forests. Old forests support a higher numberof species; although mean species richness is not significantly different between the two age classes.Terricolous and epixylic community structure is correlated with stand age and log characteristics, butthe epiphtytic community is not. Epiphytic community structure is strongly associated with precipita-tion in the old stands, but not in the mid-seral stands. Old forests at the wetter end of the precipitationgradient contained several old-growth associated species, all of which are hygrophytic. Most epiphyticmacrolichens associated with old forests are not dependent on specific structural attributes. However,western red cedar (Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don) harbors the greatest number of arboreal macrolichenspecies by far in these unmanaged stands and should, therefore, be considered a key indicator in managedforests. Our study suggests that most macrolichen species found in old forests can also occur in 70- to165-year-old forests dating from stand-replacing fires. Old forests, however, clearly provide importanthabitat for oceanic epiphytes at the edge of their ecological range in the interior of British Columbia. Ourfindings illustrate that the macrolichen flora in wet toe-slope stands in humid inland British Columbiahas a high level of resilience following disturbance under natural succession conditions. It also underlinesthe point that some species, like Lobaria pulmonaria, are good indicators of old-growth forests in certainregions but not in others, suggesting a careful use of the term old-growth dependence. Keywords: Biodiversity; Bioindicators; Forest management; Lichen; Old growth.