Phlyctis monosperma

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Phlyctis monosperma
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Gyalectales
Family: Phlyctidaceae
Genus: Phlyctis
Species:
P. monosperma
Binomial name
Phlyctis monosperma
S.Joshi & Dalip Upreti (2012)

Phlyctis monosperma is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. [1] It is characterised by its greyish-white, loose, granular thallus, single-spored asci, and distinctive chemical substances. The lichen is found in the subtropical evergreen forests of the Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats of India, where it grows on rough tree bark in close association with plant-dwelling bryophytes at elevations above 2,000 m (6,600 ft). It also occurs in Sri Lanka.

Contents

Taxonomy

Indian lichenologists Santosh Joshi and Dalip Upreti formally described Phlyctis monosperma as a new species in 2012. The type specimen was collected in Sukhia forest in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, in June 1976. The specific epithet monosperma refers to the lichen's unique feature of having single-spored asci. [2]

According to James Lendemer and Richard Harris, Phlyctis monosperma should be reevaluated as a possible synonym of P. boliviensis . [3]

Description

Phlyctis monosperma has a greyish-white, loose, and granular thallus. The species is characterised by its single-spored asci and ascospores that have 15 transverse septa. These spores typically measure 140–150  μm long by 30–40 μm wide, and have locules (internal cavities) that are 9–13 μm long. It has a chlorococcoid photobiont. The chemistry of the lichen is marked by the presence of the chemosyndrome centred around the substance psoromic acid. The expected results of standard chemical spot tests are K−, C−, KC−, and P+ (yellow). [2]

The lichen is similar to the New Zealand species Phlyctis megalospora but can be distinguished by its smaller ascospores with fewer septa and the absence of atranorin and protocetraric acid. [2] Another species containing psoromic acid and featuring transversely septate ascospores, Phlyctis psoromica , can be distinguished by its 4–8-spored asci and smaller, 3–7-septate ascospores measuring 30–52 by 4–6 μm. Phlyctis chilensis , a relatively rare and localised species found in the cool temperate regions of South America, shares similarities with the new taxon in having single-spored asci. However, it differs by containing norstictic and connorstictic acids as thallus compounds and having larger, muriform ascospores (190–285 by 55–70 μm). Phlyctis subagelaea , an Indian species with muriform characteristics, also possesses single-spored asci and a whitish-grey ecorticate thallus. Nevertheless, it can be distinguished from P. monosperma by containing fumarprotocetraric acid as a secondary compound. [4]

Habitat and distribution

Phlyctis monosperma is found in the subtropical evergreen forests of the Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats of India. [5] It typically grows on rough tree bark in close association with epiphytic (plant-dwelling) bryophytes at elevations above 2,000 m (6,600 ft). The species has been collected in India's West Bengal and Tamil Nadu states. [2] In 2014, the lichen was recorded from Sri Lanka. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Phlyctis</i> Genus of fungi

Phlyctis is a genus of lichenized fungi in the order Gyalectales, and the type genus of the family Phlyctidaceae. Members of the genus are commonly called blemished lichens.

Phlyctis psoromica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. Native to New South Wales, Australia, it was described as new to science in 2011. This lichen is characterised by its whitish to pale blue-grey crustose thallus and distinctive secondary chemistry.

Marcelaria benguelensis is a tropical species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) and crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. It is found in continental southeast Asia.

Ocellularia upretii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in India.

Phlyctis lueckingii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. Found in Sri Lanka, it was formally described as a new species by Gothamie Weerakoon and André Aptroot in 2016. The type was collected on the Dothalugala mountain, where it was found in a rainforest on the smooth bark of a tree. The species epithet honours lichenologist Robert Lücking.

Astrothelium chulumanense is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in the Yungas montane forest of Bolivia, it was formally described as a new species in 2023. It is characterized by pseudostromata not differing in colour from the thallus, perithecia immersed for the most part in the thallus with the upper part elevated above and covered with orange pigment, apical and fused ostioles, the absence of lichexanthone, a clear hamathecium, eight-spored asci, and large, muriform ascospores with a thickened median septum.

Fissurina capsulata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in India, it was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar. The lichen is native to Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, where it was first identified near Daisy Bank in 1975.

Fissurina coarctata is a species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in India, where it grows in tropical rainforests and moist deciduous forests. This corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen is primarily found on exposed tree trunks along roadsides. Its thallus has a yellowish-brown to olive-green colour and has a thick, verrucose texture. The species was formally described as new to science in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar.

Fissurina karnatakensis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in India, it was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar. It grows on tree trunks in exposed conditions along roadsides within moist forests, particularly in Karnataka, a state known for its many endemic lichen species.

Fissurina khasiana is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in India, specifically in the evergreen forests of Upper Shillong in the Khasi Hills; its species name is derived from the region where it was first collected. The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar.

Cruentotrema amazonum is a little-known species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in Brazil, Thailand, and Vietnam, where it grows in the understory of primary rainforests.

Acanthothecis verrucosa is a species of lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in southern Vietnam, where it grows on smooth-barked trees in tropical forests. The lichen is characterized by its olive-green, verrucose thallus and the presence of psoromic acid. This species can easily be confused with similar lichens, but it can be distinguished by its specific morphological and chemical features.

Fulvophyton macrosporum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Roccellographaceae. Found in the Seychelles, it was formally described as a new species in 2017 by lichenologists Damien Ertz and Paul Diederich. Its differentiation from the morphologically similar Sclerophyton madagascariense primarily hinges on its 10–14 septate (partitioned) ascospores and the existence of psoromic acid, while S. madagascariense typically contains 8–10-septate ascospores and features stictic acid. Fulvophyton macrosporum was first identified in Seychelles, in the Praslin National Park, situated southeast of Vallée de Mai. The species was discovered growing on trees between altitudes of 250–360 m (820–1,180 ft). Its species epithet macrosporum alludes to the relatively large ascospores that characterise the species.

Phlyctis communis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. Found in the Maharashtra state of India, it grows on the bark of tree trunks in semi-evergreen to dry deciduous forests. Described as a new species in 2012, the lichen is characterised by its greyish or greenish-white crustose thallus and numerous ascomata, ascospores that have between 7 and 14 transverse septa, and the presence of corstictic and salazinic acids.

Phlyctis sirindhorniae is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. It shares some similarities with Phlyctis agelaea but can be distinguished by its smaller ascospores, larger apothecia, and a higher number of ascospores per ascus. It is only known to exist in a specific location in northeastern Thailand.

Phlyctis subhimalayensis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. It is found in certain high-elevations regions of the Himalayas and Southwestern China.

Fissurina elixii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in New South Wales and Tasmania in Australia.

Cryptothecia albomaculatella is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. It is a common lichen species in Thailand, and has also been recorded from Assam, India.

Schistophoron muriforme is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae, first described in 2016. Found in Sri Lanka, it is characterised by its pale yellowish-white thallus and muriformascospores.

Enterographa aldabrensis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Roccellaceae. It is only known to occur in Aldabra in the Seychelles.

References

  1. ↑ "Phlyctis monosperma S. Joshi & Upreti". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Joshi, Santosh; Upreti, Dalip K.; Nayaka, Sanjeeva (2012). "Two new species in the lichen genus Phlyctis (Phlyctidaceae) from India". The Lichenologist. 44 (3): 363–369. doi:10.1017/s0024282911000879. S2CID   85299529.
  3. ↑ Lendemer, James; Harris, Richard C. (2014). "Studies in lichens and lichenicolous fungi – No. 19: Further notes on species from the Coastal Plain of southeastern North America". Opuscula Philolichenum. 13: 155–176.
  4. ↑ Joshi, S.; Upreti, D.K. (2013). "The lichen genus Phlyctis (Phlyctidaceae) in India". Geophytology. 42 (2): 151–157.
  5. ↑ Singh, K.P.; Singh, Pushpi; Sinha, G.P. (2018). "Lichen diversity in the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot region, India". Cryptogam Biodiversity and Assessment. 2018: 71–114 [93]. doi: 10.21756/cab.esp9 .
  6. ↑ Weerakoon, Gothamie; Aptroot, Andre (2014). "Over 200 new lichen records from Sri Lanka, with three new species to science". Cryptogamie, Mycologie. 35 (1): 51–62. doi:10.7872/crym.v35.iss1.2014.51. S2CID   85091814.
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