Usnea lambii

Last updated

Usnea lambii
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Lecanorales
Family: Parmeliaceae
Genus: Usnea
Species:
U. lambii
Binomial name
Usnea lambii
(Imshaug) Wirtz & Lumbsch (2011)
Synonyms [1]
  • Neuropogon lambiiImshaug (1954)

Usnea lambii is a small species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. [2] It was first formally described as a new species in 1954 by Henry Imshaug. It has a bipolar distribution, that is, it occurs at both of Earth's polar regions. It is also found at high elevations in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state, where it was first discovered.

Contents

Taxonomy

Usnea lambii was formally described by American lichenologist Henry Imshaug as a member of genus Neuropogon. The species epithet honours Elke Mackenzie (formerly Lamb), "one of lichenology's most devoted students and an outstanding monographer". The type specimen was collected near Yakima Park, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, U.S.A. by Per Fredrik Scholander  [ sv ] on 19 August 1942; the elevation was 6,000 ft (1,800 m). The type specimen is housed in the Farlow Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany at Harvard University. [3] Neuropogon was later subsumed into Usnea when molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that the genus was polyphyletic, with a core group of species nested in genus Usnea . Subsequently, the taxon was transferred to Usnea in 2011 by H. Thorsten Lumbsch and Volkmar Wirth. [4]

In 1985, F. Joy Walker proposed relegating Usnea lambii to synonymy with Usnea sphacelata , [5] but subsequent molecular data shows that the species are distinct. [6]

Description

Usnea lambii grows erect and fruticulose (i.e. small and bushy), reaching up to about 2 cm (3⁄4 in) in height. The thallus is narrowly anchored at the base, branching sparsely. The basal branches are mostly sulphurous-yellow in color but can darken above, with a smooth and somewhat polished texture. They do not have any significant verrucose or annular (ring-like) rimose features. The thinner, ultimate branches may develop a banded appearance due to blackening. These branches have abundant soredia which are yellowish, possibly turning black, with a grainy texture. Neither apothecia (sexual reproductive structures) nor pycnidia (asexual reproductive structures) have been observed in the species. [3]

There are two chemotypes of U. lambii: chemotype 1 contains usnic acid, while chemotype 2 contains usnic acid and psoromic acid as major substances, hypostrepsilic acid as a minor component, and trace amounts of isostrepsilic acid. [7]

It has similarities with Usnea sulphurea due to the loose nature of the medulla but can be distinguished by its branches which are not scabrid-verruculose. It is also noted to closely resemble Usnea acromelana but has distinct differences in medulla and central strand structure. [3]

Habitat and distribution

The discovery of Usnea lambii in the Northern Hemisphere, specifically on Mount Rainier, was significant at the time, as traditionally, Neuropogon species had mostly found in the Southern Hemisphere. This particular species, having affinities with arctic species but being found in Mount Rainier rather than high elevations in the Rocky Mountains (similar to some other bipolar lichens), has a unique distribution pattern. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Usnea</i> Genus of lichens

Usnea is a genus of mostly pale grayish-green fruticose lichens that grow like leafless mini-shrubs or tassels anchored on bark or twigs. The genus is in the family Parmeliaceae. It grows all over the world. Members of the genus are commonly called old man's beard, beard lichen, or beard moss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parmeliaceae</span> Family of lichens

The Parmeliaceae is a large and diverse family of Lecanoromycetes. With over 2700 species in 71 genera, it is the largest family of lichen-forming fungi. The most speciose genera in the family are the well-known groups: Xanthoparmelia, Usnea, Parmotrema, and Hypotrachyna.

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

Cladia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Cladoniaceae. Cladia species have a crustose or squamulose (scaly) primary thallus and a fruticose, secondary thallus, often referred to as pseudopodetium. The type species of the genus, Cladia aggregata, is widely distributed, occurring in South America, South Africa, Australasia and South-East Asia to southern Japan and India. Most of the other species are found in the Southern Hemisphere.

<i>Allocetraria</i> Genus of lichens

Allocetraria is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Parmeliaceae. It consists of 12 species, with a center of distribution in China.

<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>Melanelixia</i> Genus of fungi

Melanelixia is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It contains 15 Northern Hemisphere species that grow on bark or on wood. The genus is characterized by a pored or fenestrate epicortex, and the production of lecanoric acid as the primary chemical constituent of the medulla. Melanelixia was circumscribed in 2004 as a segregate of the related genus Melanelia.

<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>Xanthoparmelia</i> Genus of fungi

Xanthoparmelia is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. This genus of lichen is commonly found in the United States, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Ecuador.

Parmotrema albinatum is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae that is found in Hawaii. It was originally described in 2001 as Rimelia albinata. Later phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the genus Rimelia was synonymous with Parmotrema, so this species was transferred to that genus. The lichen is characterized by the sorediate and short-lacinulate thallus with salazinic acid in the medulla and traces of lobaric acid. The upper surface of the thallus is whitish, which probably a result of the thickness of the thick upper cortex.

<i>Neoprotoparmelia</i> Genus of fungi

Neoprotoparmelia is a genus of crustose lichens that was created in 2018. It contains 24 tropical and subtropical species that mostly grow on bark. Neoprotoparmelia is in the subfamily Protoparmelioideae of the family Parmeliaceae, along with the morphologically similar genera Protoparmelia and Maronina.

<i>Dolichousnea</i> Genus of lichen

Dolichousnea is a genus of fruticose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It has three species. The widely distributed type species, Dolichousnea longissima, is found in boreal regions of Asia, Europe, and North America.

<i>Hypogymnia flavida</i> Species of lichen

Hypogymnia flavida is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in mountainous locations of east Asia, where it grows on the bark and wood of woody plants. It has a relatively large yellowish thallus.

<i>Parmelia fraudans</i> Species of lichen

Parmelia fraudans is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Europe and North America, where it grows on rocks.

Xanthoparmelia salazinica is a species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in South Africa, it was described as a new species in 1989 by American lichenologist Mason Hale. He classified it in Karoowia, a genus that has since been placed in synonymy with Xanthoparmelia following molecular phylogenetic analysis published in 2010.

Neoprotoparmelia capitata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) and crustose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in eastern North America.

Leucodecton coppinsii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in lowland forests of Sarawak, Malaysia.

Usnea mayrhoferi is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in the Galápagos Islands.

Hypotrachyna constictovexans is a little-known species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Known only from a single specimen collected in 1976, it is found in the highlands of Peru. Its thallus can grow over 5 cm wide, featuring long, straight, and separate lobes that are highly convex and tube-like, with a pale grey, slightly shiny upper surface adorned with cylindrical isidia.

Usnea galapagona is a species of beard lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. The lichen is easily recognized by its special structure. It has a tough, glass-like outer layer, a thick central core, and a very faint, almost invisible inner layer. This lichen stands upright and has a reddish colour near its base. Its branches split unevenly and are generally few in number, without any small, hair-like structures.

Usnea pallidocarpa is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) beard lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is known from Argentina.

References

  1. ↑ "Synonymy. Current Name: Usnea lambii (Imshaug) Wirtz & Lumbsch, in Lumbsch & Wirtz, Lichenologist 43(6): 556 (2011)". Species Fungorum . Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Usnea lambii (Imshaug) Wirtz & Lumbsch". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Imshaug, H. (1954). "A new species of Neuropogon from the United States". Rhodora. 56: 154–157.
  4. ↑ Lumbsch, H.T.; Wirtz, N. (2011). "Phylogenetic relationships of the neuropogonoid core group in the genus Usnea (Ascomycota, Parmeliaceae)". The Lichenologist. 43 (6): 553–559. doi:10.1017/S0024282911000417. S2CID   86245644.
  5. ↑ Walker, F.J. (1985). "The lichen genus Usnea subgenus Neuropogon". Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Botany). 13: 1–130.
  6. ↑ Wirtz, Nora; Printzen, Christian; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten (2008). "The delimitation of Antarctic and bipolar species of neuropogonoid Usnea (Ascomycota, Lecanorales): a cohesion approach of species recognition for the Usnea perpusilla complex". Mycological Research. 112 (4): 472–484. doi:10.1016/j.mycres.2007.05.006. PMID   18314319.
  7. ↑ Elix, John A.; Wirtz, Nora; Lumbsch, Thorsten H. (2007). "Studies on the chemistry of some Usnea species of the Neuropogon group (Lecanorales, Ascomycota)". Nova Hedwigia. 85 (3–4): 490–501. doi:10.1127/0029-5035/2007/0085-0491.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.