Bacidina ferax

Bacidina ferax
	(A) Thallus with apothecia. (B) Thallus with apothecia in spring showing young, alabaster apothecia with speckles of pigment, and the previous year's dying apothecia. (C) Section through apothecium, showing brown pigment confined to tissue surfaces. (D) Part of section through apothecium, showing the granular nature of the brown pigment.; Scales: 0.5 mm (A, B), 25 μm (C, D)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Lecanoromycetes
Order:	Lecanorales
Family:	Ramalinaceae
Genus:	Bacidina
Species:	B. ferax
Binomial name
	Bacidina ferax; S.Ekman (2023)

Last updated April 23, 2024

Bacidina ferax is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is characterised by its abundant apothecia and unique habitat preferences. It is typically found in seasonally flooded zones along lakes and rivers in central and northern Sweden, as well as in Finland and Russia. This lichen is often confused with other species like Bacidina inundata and Bacidina chloroticula , but can be distinguished by its specific morphological and chemical characteristics.

Taxonomy

Bacidina ferax was first described by lichenologist Stefan Ekman as a new species in 2023, with the type specimen collected from Uppland, Sweden on Salix cinerea . The species epithet ferax is a Latin adjective meaning "fruitful", alluding to the abundance of apothecia produced by this lichen.^[1]

Description

Bacidina ferax forms a crustose thallus composed of rounded to effigurate (formless) areoles that fuse together, creating a continuous crust. The apothecia vary in colour from isabelline to almost black, with pigmentation appearing as distinct, superficial layers of aggregated pigment crystals. The proper exciple , a structural component of the apothecium, has distinctly radiating and dichotomously branched hyphae.^[1]

The lichen's photobiont is a unicellular member of the Trebouxiophyceae group, with more or less ellipsoid cells. The apothecia are biatorine in form and abundant, ranging in size from 0.15 to 0.3 mm in diameter. The colour of the disc varies from isabelline to tan, brown, or brown-black, with the margin often being slightly paler than the disc.^[1]

Apothecia in Bacidina ferax tend to be pale and almost unpigmented when young, gradually becoming more pigmented with age. Apothecia appear to be short-lived and produced in distinct generations. The lichen could be confused with Bacidina inundata and Bacidina chloroticula , but can be distinguished by its smaller apothecia, pigmentation patterns, and other morphological characteristics.^[1]

Habitat and distribution

Bacidina ferax is primarily found in central and northern Sweden, including the provinces of Värmland, Uppland, Dalarna, Gästrikland, and Jämtland. It has also been recorded in Finland and Russia. The lichen prefers a specific habitat: seasonally flooded zones along lakes and rivers. It grows on the bark of various phorophytes, such as Salix cinerea , Alnus glutinosa , Populus tremula , and Quercus robur , at or above the highest water level. The species is often associated with another lichen, Lecania prasinoides .^[1]

Bacidina margallensis , described from a single specimen in the Himalayan foothills of Pakistan, appears to be similar to Bacidina ferax, although further study is needed to confirm their relationship. The author suggests that some forms described under Bacidia inundata may turn out to be synonymous with Bacidina ferax.^[1]

Related Research Articles

Bacidina is a genus of lichens in the family Ramalinaceae. It was circumscribed by Czech lichenologist Antonín Vězda in 1990, with Bacidina phacodes assigned as the type species. Vězda included 11 species in Bacidina, which was originally classified in the Lecideaceae. These species had previously been placed in genus Bacidia.

Bacidina sorediata is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. Found in the Seychelles, it was described as new to science in 2011. It is characterized by its distinct sorediate thallus and pale yellow to orange apothecia.

Phlyctis psoromica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. Native to New South Wales, Australia, it was described as new to science in 2011. This lichen is characterised by its whitish to pale blue-grey crustose thallus and distinctive secondary chemistry.

Bacidina circumpulla is a species of crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. Found in Alaska and British Columbia, it was described as a new species in 2020 by Stefan Ekman.

Micarea pauli is a species of corticolous and lignicolous, crustose lichen in the family Pilocarpaceae. It is only known to occur in Poland's Białowieża Forest.

Lecania leprosa is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It occurs in Eastern Europe.

Biatora oxneri is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is found in the Russian Far East and in South Korea.

Biatora radicicola is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) and saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is found in various locations in Europe, where it grows in sheltered and humid microhabitats, often on exposed root bark at the base of trees.

Phyllopsora amazonica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is found in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil.

Buellia peregrina is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Caliciaceae. It is found in the Namib desert in Namibia.

Albemarlea is a fungal genus in the family Fuscideaceae. A monotypic genus, it contains the single corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen species Albemarlea pamlicoensis discovered in the Bull Neck Swamp of the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula, North Carolina. Characterized by a crust-like thallus, Fuscidea-type asci, and a green coccoid photobiont, A. pamlicoensis demonstrates unique morphological characteristics that distinguish it from other polysporous lichens. Although it shows certain similarities to the genera Maronea and Piccolia, the differences in apothecia and absence of specific pigments mark its distinctiveness. As this species has been found in only one location despite extensive surveys, it highlights the need for continued conservation efforts and further research to ascertain its full distribution and potential threats.

Caloplaca nigra is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found on rocks predominantly in the Galápagos Islands, it is characterised by its dark reproductive structures.

Calogaya orientalis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) and muscicolous lichen (moss-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in arid steppe and desert habitats in Northwestern China, Iran, and Turkey. The thallus of this lichen is reduced, similar to species in the genus Athallia.

Coenogonium flammeum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Harpidiaceae. It is found in Argentina.

Caloplaca fluviatilis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in the Republic of Tyva in Siberia.

Caloplaca kiewkaensis is a species of bark- and wood-dwelling crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Described as a new species in 2011, this lichen is found in the Far East region of Russia, specifically within Primorsky Krai.

Kuettlingeria soralifera is a saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen species in the family Teloschistaceae, first described in 2006. It is similar to Kuettlingeria xerica but distinguished by the presence of soredia on its thallus.

<i>Chaenothecopsis kilimanjaroensis</i> Species of lichen

Chaenothecopsis kilimanjaroensis is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) pin lichen in the family Mycocaliciaceae. Found in the cloud forests of Tanzania, it was described as a new species in 2019. These tiny lichens have a short stalk, which can be either single or formed in aggregates on the same thallus. The stalks are medium brown at the base and become translucent in water. This species has unique spores, which contain a single septum, are arranged in a single row in the ascus, and have a surface ornamented with elongated, blister-like structures.

Buellia subalbula is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Caliciaceae. It occurs in coastal southern Africa, South America, and Australia, where it grows on calcareous rocks.

Fissurina isohypocrellina is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae]. Newly described to science in 2022, it is found in the rainforests of Acre, Brazil. This species is notable within the genus Fissurina genus for the presence of isohypocrellin, a rare secondary metabolite that contributes to its unique wine-red apothecia.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ekman, Stefan (2023). "Four new and two resurrected species of Bacidina from Sweden, with notes and a preliminary key to the known Scandinavian species". Nordic Journal of Botany. 2023 (5): e03846. doi: 10.1111/njb.03846 .

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[Ekman_2023-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ekman, Stefan (2023). "Four new and two resurrected species of Bacidina from Sweden, with notes and a preliminary key to the known Scandinavian species". Nordic Journal of Botany. 2023 (5): e03846. doi: 10.1111/njb.03846 .

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