Anzia mahaeliyensis is a species of foliose lichen in the large family Parmeliaceae.[1] It was discovered by scientists studying lichens in Sri Lanka's Horton Plains National Park and was named after the local Sinhalese name Maha Eliya for this high-elevation plateau. The lichen forms loose grey to bluish-grey rosettes on tree bark, with narrow forked lobes that bear abundant small cylindrical structures for asexual reproduction across their upper surfaces. It is endemic to the cloud forests of Sri Lanka's Central Highlands at elevations of 2,150–2,175 meters, where it grows on both living and dead montane forest trees in persistently misty, cool conditions.
Molecular analysis of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer region shows that A.mahaeliyensis forms a well-supported clade with A.flavotenuis and their relative A.hypoleucoides; it is the immediate sister to the A.flavotenuis + A.hypoleucoides pair. In morphological terms the species lacks the chondroid axis (a central 'cord' of reinforcing hyphae) that characterises some other Anzia lineages, highlighting incongruence between traditional subgeneric groupings and genetic relationships.[2][3]
Description
The thallus forms loose grey to bluish-grey rosettes 1–3cm across that adhere only lightly to bark. Individual lobes are narrow (roughly 0.8–1mm), convex and fork repeatedly, giving a neat, antler-like outline. Vegetative propagules are abundant: short, cylindrical isidia arise across the upper surface ( laminal ) and only rarely on the margins. They may swell into tiny lobes or branch but, importantly, never develop the dark tips seen in A.flavotenuis. (Isidia are microscopic 'sprigs' that break off to spread both partners of the lichen together, serving as asexual reproductive units.)[2]
Internally the medulla – the cotton-wool-like layer beneath the green algal zone – is single-layered and white; no chondroid axis is present. The lower surface lacks a true cortex but bears a discontinuous spongiostratum : a dark felt of intertwining hyphae that traps moisture and debris. Stout black rhizines (root-like anchoring threads) project mainly from the gaps between those patches. Sexual reproductive structures (apothecia) have not been observed in this species.[2]
The plateau is enveloped by persistent mist, high rainfall and cool temperatures, creating a cloud forest microclimate that favours corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichens. No records exist outside this isolated massif, so the species is regarded as narrowly endemic.[2]
↑ Wang, Xin Yu; Goffinet, Bernard; Liu, Dong; Liang, Meng Meng; Shi, Hai Xia; Zhang, Yan Yun; Zhang, Jun; Wang, Li Song (2015). "Taxonomic study of the genus Anzia (Lecanorales, lichenized Ascomycota) from Hengduan Mountains, China". The Lichenologist. 47 (2): 99–115. doi:10.1017/S0024282914000644.
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