| Malmidea allopapillosa | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Malmideaceae |
| Genus: | Malmidea |
| Species: | M. allopapillosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Malmidea allopapillosa Kalb (2021) | |
 | |
| Holotype site: Páramo de Mariño, Venezuela [1] | |
Malmidea allopapillosa is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. [2] It is found in Venezuela.
The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2021 by the German lichenologist Klaus Kalb. The type specimen was collected by the author in 1980 from a cloud forest in the surroundings of Tovar, Páramo de Mariño, (Mérida) at an altitude of 3,000 m (9,800 ft). The species epithet refers to its resemblance to Malmidea papillosa . [1]
Malmidea allopapillosa is a crustose lichen with a thallus that is either continuous or cracked and measures 50–100 µm in thickness. The surface of the thallus is smooth and dull, with warts that are 0.2–0.3 mm in diameter and with a whitish-grey colour. This species lacks both isidia and soralia. The cortex of the thallus reacts to a solution of potassium hydroxide (i.e., the K spot test) with a yellow colouration, while the medulla of the thallus is white is K−. The medulla of the warts is peach-coloured to pink, with an orange-red reaction with K+, which soon changes to lemon-yellow. The photobiont of this species is chlorococcoid , with cells measuring 6–8 µm in diameter. [1]
The apothecia of Malmidea allopapillosa are sessile and rounded, measuring 0.3–0.8 mm in diameter and 0.4–0.5 mm in height. The apothecial discs are flat and range in colour from light to dark brown. The margin of the apothecia is thin, approximately 0.05 mm thick, and varies in colour from whitish-grey to dark brownish-grey. As the lichen ages, the margin is excluded, forming a piperis-type excipulum that is more or less hyaline (translucent) or brown at the periphery, with the inner part being hyaline and lacking hydrophobic granules. The subhymenium is about 15 µm high and varies from hyaline to light brown, while the centrally located hypothecium is 70–90 µm high, narrowing towards the margin, and has a reddish to dark brown colour unreactive to K. The epihymenium is brown, and the hymenium is hyaline, measuring 130–150 µm in height. The base of the apothecia is partially filled with opaque granules that react K+ (greenish-yellow). [1]
The asci of Malmidea allopapillosa measure 90–120 by 20–25 µm. Each ascus contains 6–8 broadly ellipsoid, ascospores that lack septa. These ascospores have walls that are equally thickened and halonate , measuring 14–17 by 8–10 µm with a halo of 1 µm. [1]
Chemically, this species is characterised by the presence of atranorin as a major component, along with approximately 10 unidentified xantholepinone substances, detectable using thin-layer chromatography. Its lookalike Malmidea papillosa lacks atranorin and has a different set of xantholepinones. [1]
Lecanora mugambii is a species of crustose lichen in the family Lecanoraceae. Found in western Kenya, it was described as new to science in 2011.
Malmidea is a genus of crustose lichens and the type genus of the family Malmideaceae. It was established in 2011 to contain a phylogenetically distinct group of species formerly placed in the genus Malcolmiella. The crust-like thallus of Malmidea lichens has a surface that varies from smooth to rough, featuring textures such as verrucose (wart-like), granulose (grainy), or pustulate (pimpled). These textures are often formed by goniocysts, which are spherical clusters of green algal cells from the family Chlorococcaceae, encased in fungal hyphae. Malmidea comprises nearly 70 mostly tropical species that grow on bark, although a few grow on leaves.
Malmidea attenboroughii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is known to occur from a single location in the Amazon rainforest of Bolivia.
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Caloplaca haematommona is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It has a very thin, whitish, crust-like thallus dotted with black, spanning about 10–18 mm in width, and apothecia ranging from 0.2 to 0.8 mm in diameter, and becoming yellow-orange to brownish-orange as they mature. The lichen is known only from its type locality in Western Australia.
Malmidea cineracea is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Nicaragua.
Lecanactis malmideoides is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Roccellaceae. First described in 2018, it is found in Brazil. Characteristics of the lichen include its pruinosediscs, thin and glossy black margins, and ascospore structure.
Rinodina maronisidiata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Physciaceae, first described in 2018. Found at high altitudes in the Venezuelan Andes, it is characterised by its unique isidia-covered thallus and specific ascospore morphology.
Placolecis kunmingensis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Catillariaceae. It is found in Yunnan, China. The lichen is characterised by a thallus that is areolate to squamulose in its centre, forming irregular patches or clumps 10–50 mm wide, as well as its ellipsoid or spherical ascospores with slightly thickened wall.
Malmidea albomarginata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Venezuela.
Malmidea allobakeri is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Venezuela.
Malmidea atlanticoides is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Brazil.
Malmidea hechicerae is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Venezuela.
Malmidea hernandeziana is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Venezuela. The distinctive features of this species include a thallus with coralloid-like outgrowths, light-coloured fruiting bodies (ascomata) with a specialised structural layer, relatively large spores that tend to have slightly thickened walls at their ends, and the absence of specific lichen products typically found in other species of the genus. This combination of characteristics sets Malmidea hernandeziana apart from other species in the genus Malmidea.
Malmidea isidiifera is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Brazil and Venezuela.
Malmidea leucopiperis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Brazil.
Malmidea rhodopisoides is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Brazil.
Malmidea subcinerea is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Venezuela. The lichen has a smooth, dull thallus varying in colour from grey to olive, with a white internal medulla. It has sessile, rounded apothecia with light beige to greyish-brown discs.
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