Solitaria (lichen)

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Solitaria
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Teloschistales
Family: Teloschistaceae
Genus: Solitaria
Arup, Søchting & Frödén (2013)
Species:
S. chrysophthalma
Binomial name
Solitaria chrysophthalma
(Degel.) Arup, Søchting & Frödén (2013)
Synonyms [1]
List
  • Parmelia parietina f. citrinella Fr. (1831)
  • Parmelia parietina var. citrinella(Fr.) Tuck. (1845)
  • Placodium citrinellum(Fr.) Hepp (1857)
  • Callopisma citrinum var. citrinellum(Fr.) Kremp. (1861)
  • Physcia parietina ? citrinella(Fr.) Mudd (1861)
  • Lecanora phlogina var. citrinella(Fr.) P.Crouan & H.Crouan (1867)
  • Placodium citrinum var. citrinellum(Fr.) Rabenh. (1870)
  • Callopisma citrinellum(Fr.) Arnold (1884)
  • Xanthoria parietina var. citrinella(Fr.) Flagey (1896)
  • Caloplaca citrinella(Fr.) Lettau (1912)
  • Caloplaca chrysophthalmaDegel. (1944)

Solitaria is a fungal genus in the family Teloschistaceae. [2] It contains a single species, the corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen Solitaria chrysophthalma.

Contents

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described in 1944 by Swedish lichenologist Gunnar Degelius, who named it Caloplaca chrysophthalma. It had been known by several other names before this. [1] Ulf Arup and colleagues transferred the taxon to its own genus in 2013, following a molecular phylogenetics-based restructuring of the family Teloschistaceae. [3]

Description

Solitaria chrysophthalma is characterised by a thallus with a yellowish-green to grey hue, which extends between 90 and 100 mm. The vegetative tissue ranges from continuous to dispersed areolate patterns, with areoles initially appearing low and flat but occasionally slightly raised. Its cortex measures between 15 and 30 mm and houses a necral layer . Soralia, specialised reproductive propagules, are well-defined, either round or irregular in shape, and contain finely textured soredia with vibrant shades of yellowish-green to yellow-orange. [4]

Infrequently, the lichen bears apothecia, flat reproductive structures where spores develop. These structures are coloured dark orange to bright orange, have a diameter of 0.3 to 0.7 mm, and may have a yellowish outer thalline margin . The hymenium, a fertile portion of the apothecia, varies in depth between 55 and 85  μm. It contains features like irregular hyphae or undefined oval cells. The asci, a compartment where spores mature, contains eight spores, each with two compartments ( lumina ). The lichen displays a red reaction when treated with a solution of potassium hydroxide, both on its thallus and epihymenium . [4]

Similar species

Solitaria chrysophthalma and Lendemeriella lucifuga are lichen species that, while bearing some resemblances, exhibit distinct characteristics. Solitaria chrysophthalma is notable for its thicker, epiphloedal thallus with colours ranging from grey to various shades of yellow. This species occasionally presents an immersed thallus with scattered, light-yellow soralia. Furthermore, its soralia are bright orange-yellow, and it has bright orange apothecia, although not consistently. A key distinguishing feature is the absence of algal cell clusters in a cross-section of Solitaria chrysophthalma, a feature present in Lendemeriella lucifuga. In terms of chemical attributes, the former contains parietin as a dominant substance, supplemented by minor quantities of emodin and fragilin, and lacks fallacinal, which is found in the latter. [5]

Habitat and distribution

Solitaria chrysophthalma has been recorded in China and northern Europe. In North America, it occurs in central and eastern United States and Canada. It usually grows on bark, but, rarely, it is found on moss. Its range extends from southern Ontario south to Oklahoma and the mountains of northern Georgia and South Carolina. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teloschistaceae</span> Family of lichen-forming fungi

The Teloschistaceae are a large family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. Many members of the Teloschistaceae are readily identifiable by their vibrant orange to yellow hue, a result of their frequent anthraquinone content. The presence of these anthraquinone pigments, which confer protection from ultraviolet light, enabled this group to expand from shaded forest habitats to harsher environmental conditions of sunny and arid ecosystems during the Late Cretaceous. Collectively, the family has a cosmopolitan distribution, although members occur predominantly in subtropical and temperate regions. Although most members are lichens that either live on rock or on bark, about 40 species are lichenicolous fungi–meaning they live on other lichens.

Caloplaca durietzii, or Durietz's orange lichen, a smooth surfaced yellowish orange crustose areolate lichen with elongated lobes that grows on wood or bark in southwestern North America. It is commonly seen growing on old junipers in Joshua Tree National Monument in the Mojave Desert. It is in the Caloplaca fungus genus of the Teloschistaceae family.

<i>Gyalolechia</i> Genus of lichen-forming fungi

Gyalolechia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. It contains 18 species of crustose lichens.

<i>Xanthocarpia</i> Genus of lichen

Xanthocarpia is a genus of mostly crustose lichens in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 12 species with a largely Northern Hemisphere distribution.

<i>Igneoplaca</i> Lichen genus

Igneoplaca is a genus in the subfamily Xanthorioideae of the family Teloschistaceae. It contains a single species, the crustose lichen Igneoplaca ignea.

<i>Parvoplaca</i> Genus of lichen

Parvoplaca is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulrik Søchting, Patrik Frödén, and Ulf Arup.

Variospora cancarixiticola is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in southeastern Spain, where it grows on cancarixite, a volcanic rock known only to occur in that country.

Amundsenia austrocontinentalis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae, and the type species of genus Amundsenia. Found in Antarctica, it was formally described as a new species in 2014 by Isaac Garrido-Benavent, Ulrik Søchting, Sergio Pérez-Ortega, and Rod Seppelt. The type specimen was collected by the last author from Mule Peninsula, where it was found growing on small stones in glacial till. The species epithet austrocontinentalis refers to its distribution in continental Antarctica.

<i>Xanthocarpia feracissima</i> Species of lichen

Xanthocarpia feracissima is a species of saxicolous, crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It was first formally described as a new species in 1953 by Swedish lichenologist Adolf Hugo Magnusson, as a member of the genus Caloplaca. The type specimen was collected in 1939 by John Walter Thomson in Lake Koshkonong, Wisconsin. In the original description, Magnusson notes a similarity to the lichen now known as Gyalolechia flavovirescens, but distinguishes the new species by its lack of a visible thallus, the sordid-reddish color of its discs, and the "unusually narrow" septa of the spores. Patrik Frödén, Ulf Arup, and Ulrik Søchting transferred the taxon to Xanthocarpia in 2013, following molecular phylogenetic analysis of the family Teloschistaceae.

<i>Stellarangia</i> Genus of lichens

Stellarangia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has three species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens. Species of Stellarangia are found in dry, desert areas in Namibia and South Africa.

<i>Variospora flavescens</i> Species of lichen

Variospora flavescens is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is a common, widely distributed species and has been recorded in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Macaronesia.

<i>Fulgogasparrea appressa</i> Species of lichen

Fulgogasparrea appressa is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It has a widespread distribution in western Mexico, including Baja California. It is characterized by its vibrant colors, unique shape, and specific habitat preferences.

Teuvoahtiana is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It contains three species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens, all of which occur in South America.

Austroplaca hookeri is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It was originally described by Carroll William Dodge in 1965, as Gasparrinia hookeri. The type specimen was originally collected by British botanist and explorer Joseph Dalton Hooker on Cockburn Island; the species is named in his honour. The taxon was transferred to the large genus Caloplaca in 2004, and again to the genus Austroplaca in 2013 as part of a restructuring of the family Teloschistaceae.

Haloplaca is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the subfamily Teloschistaceae of the family Teloschistaceae. It contains three species of crustose lichens. The genus was circumscribed by Ulf Arup and colleagues in 2013, with Haloplaca britannica assigned as the type species. The genus name alludes to the preference of its species for salt-rich environments. All three species occur in the United Kingdom, but H. suaedae also occurs in Greece, Morocco and Turkey. Haloplaca species occur near the sea, either on rocks or on plant debris.

<i>Obscuroplaca</i> Genus of lichen-forming fungi

Obscuroplaca is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It contains three species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens.

Calogaya alaskensis is a species of crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It was first described as new to science in 2004 by Clifford Wetmore, who placed it in the genus Caloplaca. Ulf Arup and colleagues transferred the taxon to Calogaya in 2013 following a molecular phylogenetics-led restructuring of the Teloschistaceae.

Orientophila is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 15 species of mostly saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens. All Orientophila species occur in Northeast Asia including China, Japan, South Korea, and the Russian Far East.

Usnochroma is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has two species of crustose lichens. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by lichenologists Ulrik Søchting, Ulf Arup, and Patrik Frödén, with Usnochroma carphineum assigned as the type species. The genus name refers to the yellowish-green colour of the thallus, which is caused by the substance usnic acid. Usnochroma species occur in Macaronesia, South Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, and Algeria.

<i>Flavoplaca arcis</i> Species of lichen

Flavoplaca arcis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose to squamulose (scaley) lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Although widely distributed in Northern, Central, and Western Europe, it is not commmonly encountered.

References

  1. 1 2 "Synonymy. Current Name: Solitaria chrysophthalma (Degel.) Arup, Søchting & Frödén, in Arup, Søchting & Frödén, Nordic Jl Bot. 31(1): 55 (2013)". Species Fungorum . Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  2. ↑ "Solitaria". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  3. ↑ Arup, Ulf; Søchting, Ulrik; Frödén, Patrik (2013). "A new taxonomy of the family Teloschistaceae". Nordic Journal of Botany. 31 (1): 16–83. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.2013.00062.x.
  4. 1 2 3 Wetmore, Clifford M. (2004). "The sorediate corticolous species of Caloplaca in North and Central America". The Bryologist. 107 (4): 505–520. doi:10.1639/0007-2745(2004)107[505:tscsoc]2.0.co;2. S2CID   86345546.
  5. ↑ Kubiak, Dariusz; Zalewska, Anna (2009). "Notes on Caloplaca lucifuga (Teloschistales, Ascomycota) in Poland". Acta Mycologica. 44 (2): 239–248. doi: 10.5586/am.2009.022 . S2CID   85112022.
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