Leprocaulon adhaerens

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Leprocaulon adhaerens
Leprocaulon adhaerens 238479154.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Leprocaulales
Family: Leprocaulaceae
Genus: Leprocaulon
Species:
L. adhaerens
Binomial name
Leprocaulon adhaerens
(K.Knudsen, Elix & Lendemer) Lendemer & B.P.Hodk. (2013)
Synonyms [1]
  • Lepraria adhaerensK.Knudsen, Elix & Lendemer (2007)

Leprocaulon adhaerens is a species of leprose lichen in the family Leprocaulaceae, [2] found in North America. It was originally described in 2007 as Lepraria adhaerens and later transferred to the genus Leprocaulon in 2013 based on molecular and morphological studies. The lichen forms a granular crust that adheres tightly to both the substrate (usually rocks) and itself, often growing over mosses and other lichens. It is chemically distinct due to its production of pannarin, zeorin, and several minor secondary metabolites. The species is known from coastal southern California, Pennsylvania, and Missouri, though its distribution may be more extensive than currently documented.

Contents

Taxonomy

The species was described as new to science by the lichenologists Kerry Knudsen, John A. Elix, and James Lendemer in 2007; it was originally classified in the genus Lepraria . The type specimen was collected in the United States, in California's San Diego County, within Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve at an elevation of 107 m (351 ft). It was found in a thin-soiled opening in maritime chaparral on sandstone bluffs, growing over Rinodina intermedia , Lepraria xerophila , bryophytes, and soil. The specimen, collected on April 13, 2005 by Knudsen and colleagues (specimen number 2700), is preserved as the holotype in the UC Riverside Herbarium (UCR). The specific epithet adhaerens is derived from its Latin meaning, referring to the way the granules adhere both to the substrate and to each other. [3]

Lendemer and Brendan Hodkinson transferred the species to the genus Leprocaulon in 2013 as part of a major revision of the classification of leprose lichens. [4]

Description

The lichen forms a granular, crust-like growth without defined edges or lobes . While it lacks a true medulla, older specimens develop a lower necral layer of gelatinised granules . A distinctive feature of this species is the presence of small attaching hyphae that act as anchors or rhizines, causing the granules (soredia) to adhere to one another and to the surface they grow on. The soredia are abundant, measuring 40–100  μm in diameter, and tend to clump together. [5]

While Leprocaulon adhaerens is rarely found with apothecia (fruiting bodies), a fertile specimen was documented in San Benito County, California. The apothecia range from blackish-brown to reddish-brown, sometimes with a light pruina , and have a distinct, raised lecideine margin. As they mature, they become strongly convex, with the margin turning under. The thalline exciple is absent or reduced to fragments of thallus adhering to the proper exciple . The asci, which are of the Halecania -type, react I+ blue, with a thickened I+ blue dome. The ellipsoid, 1-septate ascospores measure 10–13 by 3.5–5 μm. [6]

The main secondary metabolites in L. adhaerens are pannarin and zeorin, though zeorin may occasionally be absent or present only in trace amounts. Additional minor compounds include norpannarin, dechloropannarin, hypopannarin and atranorin. Chemical spot tests results are K−, C−, KC−, and Pd+ (orange). [5]

Habitat and distribution

Leprocaulon adhaerens typically grows on rocks, usually over mosses and lichens, and rarely on soil. It is found in open habitats exposed to rain and sunlight, though in snowy areas it occurs in more sheltered locations. The species is known to occur only in North America. [5] It has been recorded in coastal southern California, from the Santa Monica Mountains south to San Diego, as well as in scattered locations in Pennsylvania and Missouri. Its known distribution may be influenced by collection efforts rather than its actual range. Due to its frequent association with bryophytes, L. adhaerens may often be overlooked or undercollected, and is likely to be more widespread across North America than records indicate. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Lepraria</i> Genus of lichens

Lepraria is a genus of leprose (powdery) crustose lichens that grows on its substrate like patches of granular, caked up, mealy dust grains. Members of the genus are commonly called dust lichens. The main vegetative body (thallus) is made of patches of soredia. There are no known mechanisms for sexual reproduction, yet members of the genus continue to speciate. Some species can form marginal lobes and appear squamulose. Because of the morphological simplicity of the thallus and the absence of sexual structures, the composition of lichen products are important characters to distinguish between similar species in Lepraria.

<i>Leprocaulon</i> Genus of lichens

Leprocaulon is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Leprocaulaceae. Members of the genus Leprocaulon are commonly called mealy lichens.

Lepraria pacifica, the Pacific dust lichen, is a whitish-blue-green leprose crustose lichen that grows on its substrate like patches of granular, caked-up, mealy dust grains. Like other members of the Lepraria genus, it only reproduces asexually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leprocaulaceae</span> Family of lichen-forming fungi

Leprocaulaceae is a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi. It is the single family in the monotypic order Leprocaulales. Leprocaulaceae contains three genera and about 33 species.

<i>Lepraria incana</i> Species of lichen

Lepraria incana is a species of dust lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. First described scientifically by Johann Jacob Dillenius in 1741, and then formally by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, it is the type species of the genus Lepraria. The thallus of this species is green to greyish-green, and powdery – as if made of tiny granules. These granules are soredia, which are asexual reproductive structures. Like most members of genus Lepraria, the lichen has few distinguishing features, lacking both a medulla and sexual reproductive structures (apothecia). Chemically, the lichen is characterised by the presence of the secondary chemicals known as divaricatic acid and zeorin.

<i>Lepraria harrisiana</i> Species of lichen

Lepraria harrisiana is a species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. It is widespread in the eastern United States where it occurs in humid habitats, such as conifer swamps and riparian forests.

Lepraria atlantica is a species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. Described as a new species in 2001, the lichen occurs in Australia, Europe, and Greenland, where it typically grows over rocks and associated mosses.

Lepraria caesioalba is a widely distributed species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae.

Lepraria achariana is a species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. It occurs at high elevations in Bolivia.

Lepraria alpina is a species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. It is found in Europe, North and South America, Antarctica, and Greenland, where it typically grows on rocks and rock-dwelling mosses in cool habitats.

Lepraria celata is a species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. The powdery greyish-green lichen, described as a new species in 2006, occurs in eastern Europe.

Lepraria borealis is a species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae, found in cool climates across Northern Europe, northwestern North America, Greenland, and Antarctica. It primarily grows on acidic rock and moss-covered surfaces, occasionally occurring on soil or other lichens. The species forms a granular crust with abundant soredia and shows considerable chemical variation, typically containing atranorin and rangiformic acid.

<i>Lepraria caesiella</i> Species of lichen

Lepraria caesiella is a species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. It forms a thin, gray-blue powdery crust composed of granular aggregations and lacks a true cortex or lobes. The species is widespread throughout northeastern North America, occurring primarily on tree bark, especially hardwoods like oaks, though it can also be found on non-calcareous rocks in sheltered locations. It was formally described by Richard C. Harris in 2005 and is characterized by its production of atranorin, zeorin, and pallidic acid. phylogenetics studies have helped distinguish it from the morphologically similar L. harrisiana, which was previously considered part of the same species.

Leprocaulon coriense is a species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. It is found in Asia and Australia where it grows on various substrates, including rock, wood, bark, mosses and soil.

Lepraria crassissima is a species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. It occurs in Australia and Europe, when it grows on rocks and on mosses growing on rocks.

Lepraria elobata is a species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. It occurs in Europe, North America, and Greenland. The bluish- to greenish-grey, powdery lichen grows on bark and sometimes on soil, wood, siliceous rock and mosses, usually in shady and humid habitats.

<i>Lepraria friabilis</i> Species of lichen

Lepraria friabilis is a species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. It has a disjunct distribution in the southeastern United States and southern California, where it grows exclusively on coniferous bark in humid environments such as swamps and stream valleys.

Lepraria gelida is a species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. It occurs in Greenland, Svalbard and the Russian Arctic islands, where it grows on soil, mosses and sometimes lichens, and rarely on bark.

Lepraria goughensis is a little-known species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. It is only known to occur on Gough Island in the south Atlantic Ocean.

Lepraria humida is a species of leprose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. Found in northern Europe and northeastern North America, it grows on siliceous rocks, often between mosses, typically on rain-sheltered damp surfaces.

References

  1. ↑ "Synonymy. Current Name: Leprocaulon adhaerens (K. Knudsen, Elix & Lendemer) Lendemer & B.P. Hodk., Mycologia 105(4): 1007 (2013)". Species Fungorum . Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Leprocaulon adhaerens (K. Knudsen, Elix & Lendemer) Lendemer & B.P. Hodk". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Knudsen, Kerry; Elix, John A.; Lendemer, James C. (2007). "Lepraria adhaerens: A new species from North America". Opuscula Philolichenum. 4: 5–10. doi:10.5962/p.381940.
  4. ↑ Lendemer, James C.; Hodkinson, Brendan P. (2013). "A radical shift in the taxonomy of Lepraria s.l.: Molecular and morphological studies shed new light on the evolution of asexuality and lichen growth form diversification". Mycologia. 105 (4): 994–1018. doi:10.3852/12-338. PMID   23709574.
  5. 1 2 3 Saag, Lauri; Saag, Andres; Randlane, Tiina (2009). "World survey of the genus Lepraria (Stereocaulaceae, lichenized Ascomycota)". The Lichenologist. 41 (1): 25–60. Bibcode:2009ThLic..41...25S. doi:10.1017/S0024282909007993.
  6. ↑ McCune, Bruce; Rosentreter, Roger (2015). "A fertile Leprocaulon from California" (PDF). Bulletin of the California Lichen Society. 22 (2): 45–47.
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