Lueckingia is a genus in the family Ramalinaceae.[1] It is a monospecific genus, containing the single corticolous lichen species Lueckingia polyspora.[2] The genus and species were described as new to science in 2006. The species, known only from Costa Rica, was originally found growing on bark in the shaded understory of a lowland rainforest.
Aptroot and Umaña separated Lueckingia from superficially similar ramalinaceous genera on a suite of characters rather than any single trait. Although the thallus and apothecial appearance recall Physcidia, Lueckingia differs in having polysporous asci, a lack of detectable secondary metabolites (by thin-layer chromatography and spot tests), a microphylline (not placodioid ) thallus, and biatorine apothecia. It also differs from other squamulose genera with biatorine apothecia by its polysporous asci. Superficial resemblance to the polysporous tropical genus Piccolia is discounted because Piccolia species have a crustose thallus, usually contain anthraquinones, and have a different ascus type. These combined features, accroding to the authors, justified placement in a separate, monospecific genus.[3]
Habitat and distribution
Lueckingia polyspora is corticolous, occurring on the bark of large rainforest trees (reportedly a member of the Lecythidaceae) in the shaded understorey of lowland tropical rainforest. Known collections come from 150–500m elevation on the Caribbean slope of the Cordillera de Talamanca in Costa Rica, where the type was taken in disturbed primary forest at the Hitoy Cerere Reserve near Pandora.[3]
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