| Phlyctis subhimalayensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Gyalectales |
| Family: | Phlyctidaceae |
| Genus: | Phlyctis |
| Species: | P. subhimalayensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Phlyctis subhimalayensis S.Joshi & Dalip Upreti (2012) | |
Phlyctis subhimalayensis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. [1] It is found in certain high-elevations regions of the Himalayas and Southwestern China.
Phlyctis subhimalayensis was described by lichenologists Santosh Joshi and Dalip Kumar Upreti as a new species in 2012. The name of the species alludes to both its resemblance to Phlyctis himalayensis and its collection location in the Himalayas. The type specimen was found in Uttarakhand, India, on a Quercus semecarpifolia tree in the Pithoragarh district, at an elevation of 2,500 m (8,200 ft). [2]
This lichen species has a crustose , smooth, greenish-grey to greyish-white thallus, with a whitish or absent prothallus. The chroodiscoid apothecia feature pruinose black discs and white exfoliating margins. The ascospores are hyaline, non- halonate , and have 5 to 7 transverse septa; their dimensions are 20–35 μm long and 2–4 μm wide. The photobiont of the lichen is chlorococcoid —spherical green algae. No lichen products were detected in the collected samples using thin-layer chromatography, and all standard chemical spot tests are negative. [2]
Phlyctis subhimalayensis closely resembles Phlyctis himalayensis and P. karnatakana but differs in thallus chemistry and ascospore size. [2] It also bears some resemblance to the New Zealand taxa P. longifera and P. megalospora in terms of transverse spore septation. However, these two species have larger ascospores and contain depsidones such as stictic acid and psoromic acid, respectively. In terms of morphology and chroodiscoid apothecia, Phlyctis subhimalayensis can be confused with the thelotremoid Graphidaceae (e.g. Chapsa ) and the non-lichenized genus Stictis . Nevertheless, the absence of periphysoids , the presence of chlorococcoid algae, and a poorly developed proper exciple differentiate the new species from these others. [2]
Phlyctis subhimalayensis is known to inhabit cool temperate forests in the northern and eastern Himalayas, specifically in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh, India. In these habitats, it thrives on Quercus semecarpifolia and Acer nepalensis trees at elevations of more than 2,500 m (8,200 ft). [2] [3] In 2022, its known range was expanded when it was reported as new to China, having been discovered on mountains near Chuxiong City (Yunnan), at 2,200 m (7,200 ft). [4]
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.
Bacidina sorediata is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. Found in the Seychelles, it was described as new to science in 2011. It is characterized by its distinct sorediate thallus and pale yellow to orange apothecia.
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.
Pyxine subcinerea is a species of foliose lichen in the family Caliciaceae. It has a pantropical distribution, and typically grows on bark, but less commonly on rocks. The lichen is characterised by its yellow medulla, soralia on the margins on the lobes that make up the thallus, and the presence of the chemical lichexanthone in the cortex.
Sagiolechia phaeospora is a species of crustose lichen in the family Sagiolechiaceae. It is found in the alpine tundra of Alaska.
Lecanora luteomarginata is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) and crustose lichen in the family Lecanoraceae. Found in India, it was formally described as a new species in 2006 by Sanjeeva Nayaka, Dalip Kumar Upreti, and H. Thorsten Lumbsch. The type specimen was collected in the trail from Gaurikund to Rambara in the valley of the Mandakini River at an elevation ranging from between 1,980 and 2,800 m. It is only known from the type locality. Characteristics of the lichen include its thin, smooth thallus, dark brown apothecia with bright yellow margins, melacarpella-type amphithecia and glabrata-type epihymenia. The specific epithet luteomarginata refers to the yellow-coloured apothecial margins. Secondary compounds in the lichen include arthothelin, atranorin, chloroatranorin, and thiophanic acid.
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.
Waynea cretica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), squamulose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It occurs on the Greek island of Crete and in Portugal.
Bacidina pycnidiata is a species of crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is widely distributed in Europe and North Asia. It is characterised by its whitish or cream-coloured pycnidia with long and ostiolar necks.
Biatora pacifica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is found in Russia, Japan, and South Korea, where it grows along the Pacific coast. It inhabits the bark of a variety of coniferous and deciduous plants.
Astrothelium carassense is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Robert Lücking, Matthew Nelsen, and Marcelo Marcelli. The type specimen was collected by the first author from the Santuário do Caraça, at an altitude between 1,300 and 1,400 m. The lichen has an uneven to bumpy, pale olive-yellow thallus that covers areas of up to 10 cm (4 in) in diameter. The pseudostromata are covered with an orange anthraquinone compound. The species epithet carassense refers to the type locality. The characteristics of the lichen that distinguish it from others in genus Astrothelium are its pseudostromatic ascomata, which are erumpent, with an orange cover; and the dimensions and form of its ascospores, which are muriform and measure 100–170 by 30–40 μm. Astrothelium purpurascens is somewhat similar in appearance to A. carassense, but it lacks pseudostromatic pigment and has slightly smaller ascospores.
Astrothelium macrostomoides is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Robert Lücking, Matthew Nelsen, Michel Navarro Benatti. The type specimen was collected by the first author from the Santuário do Caraça at an altitude between 1,300 to 1,400 m ; there, in the Atlantic Forest biome, it was found growing on bark in a gallery forest along a river. The lichen has an uneven to coarsely bullate, olive-green thallus that covers areas of up to 7 cm (2.8 in). Ascomata are in the form of perithecia, which are arranged in aggregated groups of 5–10 in pseudostromata. The pseudostromata contain lichexanthone, which is a lichen product that causes these structures to fluoresce yellow when lit with a long-wavelength UV light. The species epithet macrostomoides alludes to the similarity of the lichen with Astrothelium macrostomum, from which it differs by having larger ascospores. The characteristics of the lichen that distinguish it from others in genus Astrothelium are the diffusely pseudostromatic ascomata with erumpent pseudostromata, covered by thallus, each with a single group of fused ascomata; and the dimensions and form of the ascospores, which measure 80–110 by 17–25 μm, and have from five to seven septa.
Coenogonium lueckingii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Coenogoniaceae. It is known to occur in a couple of locations in South Korea, where it grows on the bark of trees in humid locations.
Lecidea tessellata is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Lecideaceae. It was formally described as a species in 1819 by German botanist Heinrich Flörke. In northern North America, it is common and widely distributed, growing on non-calcareous rocks. It also occurs in Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Europe, and Russian Asia. In India, it has been recorded only from the alpine Western Himalayas at an altitude of 3,450 m (11,320 ft). Its southern distribution extends to James Ross Island, where it is locally common.
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.
Phlyctis communis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. Found in the Maharashtra region 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 monosperma is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. 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.
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.