Parmelia protosignifera

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Parmelia protosignifera
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Lecanorales
Family: Parmeliaceae
Genus: Parmelia
Species:
P. protosignifera
Binomial name
Parmelia protosignifera
Elix & J.Johnst. (1988)

Parmelia protosignifera is a species of foliose lichen in the large family Parmeliaceae. Found in Australasia, it was described as a new species in 1988 by lichenologists John Elix and Jen Johnston. The type specimen was collected on sheltered granite ledges in Eucalyptus woodland on the eastern slopes on Tinderry Peak in New South Wales. It has also been collected in Victoria, as well as South Island [1] and Stewart Island of New Zealand. [2]

Description

Parmelia protosignifera has a thick, leathery thallus, pale grey to brownish in colour, measuring 8–15 cm (3–6 in) in diameter. The thallus comprises crowded, overlapping lobes measuring 2–10 mm (0.08–0.4 in) wide. Soredia and isidia are absent from the thallus. Apothecia are common, and they are 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) wide with a concave disc and pseudocyphellae on the margin of the exciple. Ascospores are 11–15 by 8–9  µm. [1]

Parmelia protosignifera is morphologically quite similar to Notoparmelia signifera , a species with which it has been previously confused, and after which it is named. The two lichens can be distinguished chemically: P. protosignifera has salazinic acid in the medulla, resulting in a K+ yellow-dark red spot test, while N. signifera contains protocetraric acid, which leads to a K+ pale yellow-brown spot test. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Flavoparmelia</i> Genus of fungi

Flavoparmelia is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. Because of their appearance, they are commonly known as greenshield lichens. The widely distributed genus contains 32 species. It was circumscribed by American lichenologist Mason Hale in 1986 to contain 17 former Pseudoparmelia species with broad lobes, usnic acid in the cortex, and isolichenan in the cell walls.

<i>Canoparmelia</i> Genus of lichens

Canoparmelia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Parmeliaceae. The widespread genus contains about 35 species. Canoparmelia, a segregate of the parmelioid lichen genus Pseudoparmelia, was circumscribed by John Elix and Mason Hale in 1986.

<i>Punctelia</i> Genus of lichen

Punctelia is a genus of foliose lichens belonging to the large family Parmeliaceae. The genus, which contains about 50 species, was segregated from genus Parmelia in 1982. Characteristics that define Punctelia include the presence of hook-like to thread-like conidia, simple rhizines, and point-like pseudocyphellae. It is this last feature that is alluded to in the vernacular names speckled shield lichens or speckleback lichens.

Psiloparmelia is a genus of lichen belonging to the family Parmeliaceae. It contains 13 Southern Hemisphere species, most of which are found growing on rocks at high elevations in South America. There are several characteristic features of the genus that are used to distinguish it from the morphologically similar genera, such as Arctoparmelia, Flavoparmelia, and Xanthoparmelia. These include a dark, velvety lower thallus surface that usually lacks rhizines, a negative test for lichenan, and a high concentration of usnic acid and atranorin in the cortex.

Hypotrachyna vainioi is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Brazil.

Bulbothrix meizospora is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Africa, Asia, and South America, where it grows on tree bark.

Punctelia transtasmanica is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Australasia.

Punctelia nebulata is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 1988 by lichenologists John A. Elix and Jen Johnston. The type was collected in New South Wales, on a roadside north of Gilgandra. The lichen grows on Callitris trees in semi-arid, inland regions of southern Australia.

Punctelia negata is a little-known species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in South America.

Punctelia subalbicans is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Australia and New Zealand, where it grows on the bark of various tree species.

Punctelia subpraesignis is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It occurs in Mexico, South America, and East Africa, where it grows on bark and on rocks. Major characteristics of the lichen that distinguish it from other Punctelia species include the C+ and KC+ rose spot tests of the medulla, ascospores that are smaller than 20 μm, and unciform (hooklike) conidia.

<i>Punctelia punctilla</i> Species of lichen

Punctelia punctilla is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Africa, South America, and North America, where it grows on bark and on rocks. The main characteristics that distinguish Punctelia punctilla from other species of Punctelia are the presence of isidia on the thallus surface, a pale brown thallus undersurface, and the presence of lecanoric acid in the medulla.

<i>Punctelia hypoleucites</i> Species of foliose lichen

Punctelia hypoleucites, commonly known as the southwestern speckled shield lichen, is a species of foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. First formally described by Finnish botanist William Nylander as a species of Parmelia, it was transferred to the genus Punctelia in 1982. The lichen is found in Africa, North America, and South America, where it grows on the bark of both hardwood and coniferous trees. Its greenish-grey thallus is covered with tiny white pseudocyphellae – minute holes in the thallus surface that facilitate gas exchange. Some macroscopic features that help distinguish this species from other related members of the genus include the presence and the structure of the apothecia, the absence of asexual surface propagules, and the light brown color of the thallus undersurface. Chemically, the presence of lecanoric acid in the medulla and atranorin in the cortex help distinguish it from lookalikes.

<i>Punctelia graminicola</i> Species of lichen

Punctelia graminicola is a species of foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It grows on rocks, and, less frequently, on bark in North America, South America, and East Africa. It has a blue-grey thallus measuring up to about 15 cm (6 in), covered with tiny pores called pseudocyphellae. Sometimes the lichen forms small lobes that project out from the surface. Fruiting bodies are uncommon in this species; if present, they resemble small cups with a brown internal disc measuring 3–10 mm (0.1–0.4 in) in diameter. A lookalike species, Punctelia hypoleucites, is not readily distinguishable from Punctelia graminicola by appearance or habitat alone; these species can only be reliably differentiated by examining the length of their conidia.

Pseudoparmelia kalbiana is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in South America.

Punctelia subflava is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae that occurs in Australia.

<i>Punctelia borreri</i> Species of lichen

Punctelia borreri is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is a common and widely distributed species, occurring in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America. The lichen typically grows on bark of deciduous trees, and less commonly on rock. Some European countries have reported increases in the geographic range or regional frequency of the lichen in recent decades, attributed alternatively to a reduction of atmospheric sulphur dioxide levels or an increase in temperatures resulting from climate change.

Psiloparmelia salazinica is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in South America.

Xanthoparmelia micromaculata is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in South Africa, it was formally described as a new species in 2002 by Australian lichenologist John Elix. The type specimen was collected from the summit of Waboomsberg mountain at an altitude of 1,220 m (4,000 ft). It is only known from the type locality. The lichen has a pale yellow-green, somewhat crustose thallus, reaching a diameter of up to 1 cm (0.4 in) wide. It contains several lichen products: stictic acid as a major metabolite, minor amounts of usnic acid, constictic acid, and hypostictic acid, and minor or trace amounts of norstictic acid, hyposalazinic acid, and cryptostictic acid. The species epithet refers to the prominent maculae on the thallus surface.

Xanthoparmelia perezdepazii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in the Canary Islands.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Elix, John A.; Johnston, Jen (1988). "New species in the lichen family Parmeliaceae (Ascomycotina) from the southern hemisphere". Mycotaxon. 31 (2): 491–510.
  2. Hayward, B.W.; Lumbsch, H.T. (1992). "Lichens of south-east Stewart Island, New Zealand". New Zealand Natural Sciences. 19: 69–78.