Montanelia disjuncta

Last updated

Montanelia disjuncta
Melanelia disjuncta SM1 (2).JPG
location: Poland
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Lecanorales
Family: Parmeliaceae
Genus: Montanelia
Species:
M. disjuncta
Binomial name
Montanelia disjuncta
(Erichsen) Divakar, A.Crespo, Wedin & Essl. (2012)
Synonyms [2]
  • Parmelia disjunctaErichsen (1939)
  • Melanelia disjuncta(Erichsen) Essl. (1978)
  • Parmelia granulosa Lynge (1932)
  • Melanelia granulosaEssl. (1987)

Montanelia disjuncta, the mealy camouflage lichen, [3] is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. [4] It occurs in Europe and North America.

Contents

Taxonomy

It was described as a new species in 1939 by the German lichenologist Christian Erichsen, who classified it in the genus Parmelia . [5] Theodore Esslinger transferred it to the newly circumscribed Melanelia in 1978. [6] The taxon was reclassified as a member of the new genus Montanelia in 2012, following a molecular phylogenetics-informed restructuring of this group of brown parmelioid lichens. [7]

Description

A distinguishing characteristic of this species is the coarse and dark isidia-like soredia that tend to accumulate in older parts of the thallus surface. The black thallus undersurface is attached to its substrate by numerous rhizines. All of the standard chemical spot tests are negative in this species except that it is UV+, indicating the presence of perlatolic acid and stenosporic acid. [3]

Habitat and distribution

Montanelia disjuncta grows on sun-exposed, granitic rocks. It is widely distributed in northern North America, particularly on the West Coast all the way north to Alaska and other arctic regions of the continent. [3] In Mexico, it is known only from a single collection from the mountains of Baja California. [8]

References

  1. NatureServe. "Montanelia disjuncta". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  2. "GSD Species Synonymy. Current Name: Montanelia disjuncta (Erichsen) Divakar, A. Crespo, Wedin & Essl., in Divakar, Del-Prado, Lumbsch, Wedin, Esslinger, Leavitt & Crespo, Am. J. Bot. 99(12): 2022 (2012)". Species Fungorum . Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Brodo, Irwin M.; Sharnoff, Sylvia Duran; Sharnoff, Stephen (2001). Lichens of North America. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 433. ISBN   978-0-300-08249-4.
  4. "Montanelia disjuncta (Erichsen) Divakar, A. Crespo, Wedin & Essl". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  5. Erichsen, C.F.E. (1939). "Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Flechtenflora Schleswig-Holsteins und des Gebiets der Unterelbe" [Contribution to the knowledge of the lichen flora of Schleswig-Holstein and the Lower Elbe region]. Annales Mycologici (in German). 37 (1–2): 61–87.
  6. Esslinger, T.L. (1978). "A new status for brown Parmeliae". Mycotaxon. 7 (1): 45–54.
  7. Divakar, Pradeep K.; Del-Prado, Ruth; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten; Wedin, Mats; Esslinger, Theodore L.; Leavitt, Steven D.; Crespo, Ana (2012). "Diversification of the newly recognized lichen-forming fungal lineage Montanelia (Parmeliaceae, Ascomycota) and its relation to key geological and climatic events". American Journal of Botany. 99 (12): 2014–2026. doi:10.3732/ajb.1200258. PMID   23204485.
  8. Esslinger, Theodore L. (2016). "Montanelia in Mexico". In Herrera-Campos, Maria; Pérez-Pérez, Rosa Emilia; Nash III, Thomas H. (eds.). Lichens of Mexico. The Parmeliaceae – Keys, distribution and specimen descriptions. Stuttgart: J. Cramer. pp. 279–280. ISBN   978-3-443-58089-6.