Pseudevernia consocians

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Pseudevernia consocians
Antler Lichen (4503939059).jpg
in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Lecanorales
Family: Parmeliaceae
Genus: Pseudevernia
Species:
P. consocians
Binomial name
Pseudevernia consocians
(Vain.) Hale & W.L.Culb. (1966)
Synonyms [1]
  • Evernia prunastri var. candidula Ach. (1814)
  • Parmelia consociansVain. (1926)

Pseudevernia consocians is a species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in both North America and Central America. Some characteristic features of Pseudevernia consocians are its well-developed, numerous isidia, relatively narrow lobes , and the presence of the lichen product lecanoric acid. [1]

Taxonomy

The lichen was originally described as new to science in 1926 by Finnish lichenologist Edvard August Vainio. The type specimen was collected by Danish botanist Frederik Liebmann between Cerro León and La Hoya, Mexico. [2] Mason Hale and William Louis Culberson transferred the taxon to the genus Pseudevernia in a 1966 publication. [3]

Description

Pseudevernia consocians has a thallus form that can range from leafy (foliose) to somewhat bushy (fruticose). It usually measures between 4 and 10 cm (1.6 and 3.9 in) in diameter, and it has a smooth texture with a grayish hue. The lobes that compose the thallus are linear and dichotomously branched, overlapping each other with truncated tips, and they are typically 0.3–1.5 mm wide (some are up to 3 mm wide). Cylindrical isidia are abundant on the thallus surface, presenting tips that are darker than the rest of the thallus. The medulla is loosely packed and has a white coloration. The lower thallus surface is attached through basal holdfasts (without rhizines), with a color ranging from tan to black, sometimes with occasional white mottling. The pycnidia are positioned in either a laminal or marginal arrangement, and they can present as immersed, emergent, or sessile. [4]

Other superficially similar species are Pseudevernia cladonia and Evernastrum catawbiense . The former can be distinguished from Pseudevernia consocians by the lack of isidia, while the latter produces soralia rather than isidia. [5]

The expected results for standard chemical spot tests are as follows: upper cortex K+ (yellow), and medulla K−, C+ (red), KC+ (red), and P−. The cortex contains atranorin and chloroatranorin as major and minor lichen products, respectively, while the medulla contains lecanoric acid as the major substance. [4]

The photobiont partner of Pseudevernia consocians is the green algal species Trebouxia jamesii . [6]

Habitat and distribution

Pseudevernia consocians has a distribution that encompasses the mountains of Mexico, extending further south into Central America. In addition, it is found growing in the Great Lakes and Appalachian region of eastern North America. It is common on conifers, with a particular preference for pine trees. [4] In the Appalachian Mountains, it occurs in dry and acidic environments, particularly in middle-to-high elevation habitats, where it grows between plates of bark and on branches. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Pseudevernia</i> Genus of lichens

Pseudevernia is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. The type species of the genus, Pseudevernia furfuracea, has substantial commercial value in the perfume industry.

<i>Myelochroa</i> Genus of lichens

Myelochroa is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. They are commonly known as axil-bristle lichens. It was created in 1987 to contain species formerly placed in genus Parmelina that had a yellow-orange medulla due to the presence of secalonic acids. Characteristics of the genus include tightly attached thalli with narrow lobes, cilia on the axils, and a rhizinate black lower surface. Chemical characteristics are the production of zeorin and related triterpenoids in the medulla. Myelochroa contains about 30 species, most of which grow on bark. The genus has centres of distribution in Asia and North America.

<i>Melanohalea</i> Genus of lichen

Melanohalea is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It contains 30 mostly Northern Hemisphere species that grow on bark or on wood. The genus is characterised by the presence of pseudocyphellae, usually on warts or on the tips of isidia, a non-pored epicortex and a medulla containing depsidones or lacking secondary metabolites. Melanohalea was circumscribed in 2004 as a segregate of the morphologically similar genus Melanelia, which was created in 1978 for certain brown Parmelia species. The methods used to estimate the evolutionary history of Melanohalea suggest that its diversification primarily occurred during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs.

<i>Cetrelia</i> Genus of lichens in the family Parmeliaceae

Cetrelia is a genus of leafy lichens in the large family Parmeliaceae. They are commonly known as sea-storm lichens, alluding to the wavy appearance of their lobes. The name of the genus, circumscribed in 1968 by the husband and wife lichenologists William and Chicita Culberson, alludes to the former placement of these species in the genera Cetraria and Parmelia.

<i>Punctelia</i> Genus of foliose lichens

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.

<i>Xanthoparmelia</i> Genus of fungi

Xanthoparmelia is a genus of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Xanthoparmelia is synonymous with Almbornia, Neofuscelia, Chondropsis, Namakwa, Paraparmelia, and Xanthomaculina. This genus of lichen is commonly found in the United States, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Ecuador.

<i>Xanthoparmelia lineola</i> Species of foliose lichen

Xanthoparmelia lineola, commonly known as the tight rock-shield, is a foliose lichen species in the genus Xanthoparmelia. It is a common species with a temperate distribution. Found in North America and South Africa, it grows on rocks.

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.

Hypogymnia congesta is a rare species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in China, it was formally described as a new species in 2003. The lichen grows on the bark and wood of conifers and bamboo. Hypogymnia congesta has a brown to brownish-grey foliose thallus measuring up to 8 cm (3.1 in) long or broad, with a cartilage-like texture. The lichen is chemically distinct, containing physodic acid and virensic acid; the latter substance is otherwise unknown from genus Hypogymnia.

<i>Punctelia rudecta</i> Species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae

Punctelia rudecta, commonly known as the rough speckled shield or the speckleback lichen, is a North American species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. This species can be readily identified by the light color of the thallus underside, the relatively large lobes at the edges of the thallus, and the tiny white pores present on the top of the thallus that are characteristic of the genus Punctelia. The lichen is quite abundant and widespread in the eastern and southeastern United States, although it also occurs in Canada and northern Mexico, but is less common in these regions. The lichen usually grows on bark, and less commonly on shaded rocks. There are several lookalike Punctelia species; these can often be distinguished from P. rudecta by differences in distribution or in the nature of the reproductive structures present on the thallus.

Xanthoparmelia serusiauxii is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in Namibia, it was formally described as a new species in 1986 by American lichenologist Mason Hale. The type specimen was collected by Hale from the Laguneberg Mountains, southeast of Cape Cross. There, it is common on dolerite boulders and small, flat pebbles. The specific epithet honours Emmanuël Sérusiaux, who, according to Hale, "was the first lichenologist to collect this unusual lichen in Namibia".

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

Punctelia caseana is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Its range covers eastern North America, extending south to central and northern Mexico, where it grows on the bark of many species of hardwood and conifer trees.

Punctelia cedrosensis is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is endemic to Mexico, where it grows on the bark of conifers.

<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 bolliana</i> Species of lichen

Punctelia bolliana, the eastern speckled shield lichen, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in North America, with a distribution extending from the Canadian province of Ontario south to the central and northeastern United States and Mexico. It grows on the bark of both deciduous trees and coniferous trees. The combination of characteristics that distinguishes this species from others in genus Punctelia are the absence of the vegetative propagules isidia and soralia, a pale brown lower thallus surface, and the presence of the secondary chemical protolichesterinic acid in the medulla.

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

Punctelia perreticulata is a widely distributed species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It occurs in Mediterranean Europe and Russia, North America, South America, Australia, and New Zealand, where it grows on rocks, bark, or wood. Its main distinguishing features are its thallus surface, marked with many shallow depressions, grooves, or pits, and sorediate pseudocyphellae. The lower side of the thallus is ivory to tan towards the centre and the major secondary metabolite in the medulla is lecanoric acid. A lookalike species with which it has been historically confused is Punctelia subrudecta; this lichen can be distinguished from Punctelia perreticulata by the texture of the thallus surface, or, more reliably, by the length of its conidia.

<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.

<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.

Bulbothrix klementii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Originally found in Venezuela, it has since been recorded in Australia and Brazil.

References

  1. 1 2 Hale, Mason E. (1968). "A synopsis of the lichen genus Pseudevernia". The Bryologist. 71 (1): 1–11. doi:10.2307/3240645. JSTOR   3240645.
  2. Vainio, E.A. (1926). "Lichenes Mexicani a F. M. Liebmann a. 1841–43 collecti, in Museo Hauniensi asservati". Dansk Botanisk Arkiv Udgivet Af Dansk Botanisk Forening (in Latin). 4 (11): 1–25.
  3. Hale, Mason E.; Culberson, William Louis (1966). "A third checklist of the lichens of the continental United States and Canada". The Bryologist. 69 (2): 141–182. doi:10.2307/3240509. JSTOR   3240509.
  4. 1 2 3 Egan, Robert S.; Pérez-Pérez, Rosa Emilia (2016). "Pseudevernia in Mexico". In Herrera-Campos, Maria; Pérez-Pérez, Rosa Emilia; Nash, Thomas H. III (eds.). Lichens of Mexico. The Parmeliaceae – Keys, distribution and specimen descriptions. Bibliotheca Lichenologica. Vol. 110. Stuttgart: J. Cramer. pp. 437–448. ISBN   978-3-443-58089-6.
  5. 1 2 Tripp, Erin A.; Lendemer, James C. (2020). Field Guide to the Lichens of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press. p. 383. ISBN   978-1-62190-514-1.
  6. Kroken, Scott; Taylor, John W. (2000). "Phylogenetic Species, Reproductive Mode, and Specificity of the green aAlga Trebouxia forming lichens with the fungal genus Letharia". The Bryologist. 103 (4): 645–660. doi:10.1639/0007-2745(2000)103[0645:psrmas]2.0.co;2. S2CID   15602873.