| Vermilacinia johncassadyi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Ramalinaceae |
| Genus: | Vermilacinia |
| Species: | V. johncassadyi |
| Binomial name | |
| Vermilacinia johncassadyi Spjut (1996) | |
Vermilacinia johncasadyi is a rare fruticose lichen, found on rocks along the Pacific Coast of Baja California peninsula on Punta Cono, and directly westward across the ocean on Cedros Island. [1]
Vermilacinia johncassadyi is classified in the subgenus Vermilacinia, distinguished from related species by its thallus divided into strap-like branches arising from a blackened base to about ¼ the way up the branches, and by producing lichen substances of triterpenes referred to as T1 and T2 in reference to their Rf class on thin-layer chromatography plates. Apothecia, which develop in some thalli, occur in terminal clusters, sometimes extending down along the branch margins. The strap-like branches are recurved in forms that produce apothecia, and erect in forms lacking apothecia.
Vermilacinia laevigata is morphologically similar to V. johncassadyi in its strap-like branches. It differs in its lichen substances (contains T3, not T1 and T2), and development of its apothecia elevated from the branch by a short narrower stalk-like lobe, in contrast to apothecia in V. johncassadyi that appear to pinch off from the branch margins, occurring in aggregate and often not fully developed, the margins notably wavy as a result.
The species was named after a chemist, John Cassady, who was Chairman of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy at Purdue University, and later Dean of the School of Pharmacy at Ohio State University while the species was under investigation. He, and his graduate student, Thomas McCloud, had accompanied Richard Spjut on an expedition to Baja California during May 1986 for the collection of plant and lichen samples in search of new chemical compounds for treating cancer. [1]
Vermilacinia johncasadyi contains predominantly terpenes but lacks the T3 compound as noted above, and also lacks accessory depsidones such as salazinic acid. It is one of a small number of species in the genus with a distinctive chemistry of secondary triterpenes referred to as T1 and T2. [1] These triterpenes are found only in subgenus Vermilacinia, and only in species that occur in the central region of Baja California. Their chemical formulas were identified by mass spectrometry, C30H50O2 (T1) and C30H50OO (T2) from extraction of 350 grams of a 400 gram sample [1] of Vermilacinia cedrosensis . Some material of V. reptilioderma was in the sample. In thin-layer chromatography (TLC), these compounds are so prominent that they appear to displace zeorin and [16R,(-)]-16 α-hydroxykaurane, appearing as a smear up the TLC plate.
Vermilacinia johncasadyi was first discovered along the northwest coast of Cedros Island on vertical rock faces about 500 feet directly above the ocean, 12 April 1989, and described as a new species in 1996 (Spjut & Marin 10535, holotype US) [1] [2]
Peter Bowler and Janet Marsh in 2004 indicated that Vermilacinia johncasadyi was an "aberrant insular" form of Vermilacinia laevigata (synonym Niebla laevigata [3] ) They further implied that V. johncassadyi has the same lichen substances as V. laevigata in making reference to the triterpene T3. They did not mention the triterpenes T1 and T2. The species have different geographical ranges, V. johncassayi found only in Vizcaíno Desert, in the central region of Baja California, whereas V. laevigata is confined to the California Floristic Province. [1] Their distinctive morphologies and chemistry thus have significance from a phytogeography view. [1] No explanation was given by Bowler and Marsh as to why V. johncassadyi was deemed synonymous with V. laevigata (“Niebla laevigata”). Although the names N. laevigata and V. laevigata are synonymous, the interpretation of the morphology as belonging to the same genus differs substantially; [4] thus, one might expect that the inclusion of other species (V. johncassadyi) by Bowler and Marsh under “Niebla laevigata” require justification other than just listing them in synonymy. Species names based on different types representing different interpretations are not equal as sometimes seen on web pages, [5] especially since the Bowler and Marsh circumscription of the species was incomplete by not mentioning the unusual lichen substances T1 and T2 that were found in V. johncassadyi. [1]
Vermilacinia, a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Ramalinaceae, is a yellow-green fruticose type of lichen with about 30 species that grow on rocks, trees, and soil within the fog zone along the Pacific Coast of North America and South America. The genus name refers to the thallus being divided into narrow worm-like (vermis) branches (lacinia);the latter part of the name (lacinia) generally applied in descriptions and taxonomic keys such as exemplified in a key to Sonoran Desert species of Ramalina.
Niebla is a genus of yellow-green fruticose lichens that grow on rocks, trees, and shrubs within the fog zone of coastal North America, or more narrowly defined to occur on rocks and soil along the Pacific Coast from Mendocino County in California south to Baja California Sur.
Niebla homalea is a species of fruticose lichen that grows on rocks in foggy areas along the Pacific Coast of North America, from Mendocino County, California south to Bahía de San Quintín on the main peninsula of Baja California, with an isolated occurrence further south on vertical rock faces above Punta Camachos, and other occurrences in the Channel Islands and on Guadalupe Island. The epithet homalea, given by Acharius, suggests it was in regard to the branches appearing flattened.
Vermilacinia cedrosensis is a species of pale fruticose lichen that is endemic to Baja California, Mexico.
Vermilacinia combeoides is a fruticose lichen found on rocks along the Pacific Coast of North America from Sonoma County, California south to San Quintín, Baja California, and also on Santa Catalina Island and Guadalupe Island.
Vermilacinia laevigata is a fruticose lichen that occurs in the fog zone along the Pacific Coast of the California Floristic Province from Marin County, California to 15 miles south of Misión San Vicente Ferrer in Baja California
Vermilacinia ligulata is an infrequent lichen found along the foggy Pacific Coast of Baja California in rock-walled narrow arroyos, on rocky peninsulas and on ridges within the Northern Vizcaíno Desert region, ranging from Punta Cono to just north of Punta Canoas, and along the east coast of Cedros Island. The species was first collected in May 1985 in the southern part of the northern peninsula of Baja California, about 100 km north of Guerrero Negro, 400 meters inland from the ocean on rocky walls with a northern exposure in a narrow estuary. The type is from the same locality but collected one year later, 19 May 1986.
Vermilacinia paleoderma is a pale yellow-green fruticose lichen that occurs commonly along the fog zone of the Pacific Coast of Northern Vizcaíno Desert region of Baja Californica and occasionally in the Chaparral Islands of California.
Vermilacinia procera is a fruticose lichen of local occurrences on rocks near the sea along the Pacific Coast from San Francisco California to the Channel Islands, and to Punta Escarpada in Baja California. The species is also reported to occur further south to the Vizcaíno Peninsula and on Cedros Island, but these reports are controversial in view of different interpretations of the species that include V. pumila and V. paleoderma that were not recognized at the time V. procera was described ; for example, a specimen collected on Guadalupe Island by Weber and MCoy (L-3605, COLO that was cited by Phillip Rundel and Peter Bowler in 1994 as belonging to Niebla procera, whereas in a revision of the genus by Richard Spjut in 1996, it was cited as belonging to Vermilacinia paleoderma. Both authorities generally agree to some extent on the description of the species and its geographical range within the California Floristic Province.
Vermilacinia reptilioderma is a rare fruticose lichen found on the Vizcaíno Peninsula and Cedros Island of Baja California. The epithet, reptilioderma, is in regard to the outer surface of the cortex appearing like the skin of a reptile, especially the brown snake, Pseudechis australis, the color of the thallus cortex often turning brown when stored in a herbarium.
Vermilacinia rigida is a dark green, rare fruticose lichen that occurs in fog areas along the Pacific Coast of Baja California, known only from two locations about 100 km north of Guerrero Negro. The epithet, rigida, is in regard to its stiff thallus branches.
Vermilacinia rosei is a fruticose lichen known from two islands off the Pacific Coast of central Baja California, San Roque Island and Cedros Island. The epithet, rosei, is in honor of Joseph Nelson Rose who collected the lichen on San Roque Island, 15 March 1911, during the Albatross Expedition. His lichen specimens had been kept separate from the mounted and filed lichen collections in the herbarium at the Smithsonian Institution, Department of Botany, US) loose in brown standard herbarium paper, and were made available to Richard Spjut sometime after 1986 while he was undertaking a revision of the genus Niebla. The epithet was proposed by Albert William Herre who considered the lichen to be a new species but did not describe the species or publish the name. .
Vermilacinia tuberculata is a fruticose lichen known only from Morro Bay along the Pacific Coast of California The epithet tuberculata is reference to the tuberculate surface of the lichen.
Vermilacinia varicosa is a fruticose lichen known from two islands along the Pacific Coast of central Baja California, Isla San Roque located just off the southern Vizcaíno Peninsula west of Bahía Asuncón and Cedros Island where found on precipitous rocks along the northwest coast. The epithet, varicosa, is in reference to the unusually dilated type of branch in the genus. The lichen was first collected by Joseph Nelson Rose on 15 March 1911 during the Albatross Expedition. His lichen specimens had been kept separate from the mounted and filed lichen collections in the herbarium at the Smithsonian Institution, Department of Botany, US) loose in brown standard herbarium paper, and were made available to Richard Spjut sometime after 1986 while he was undertaking a revision of the genus Niebla
Vermilacinia corrugata is a fruticose lichen that grows on trees and shrubs in the fog regions along the Pacific Coast of North America from the Channel Islands and San Diego in California to southern Baja California. The epithet is in reference to corrugated cortex of the species.
Vermilacinia howei is a fruticose lichen that grows on trees and shrubs in the fog regions along the Pacific Coast of North America in the coastal scrub region of the Channel Islands of California, and around Bahía de San Quintín, Baja California and further south in the Vizcaíno Desert. The epithet is in honor of Reginald Heber Howe, Jr. for his contributions to lichenology, especially acknowledged for providing images of the type (biology) specimens in his revision of the genus Ramalina.
Niebla cornea is a fruticose lichen that grows along the fog regions of the Pacific Coast of North America from near Morro Bay, California to near Punta Santa Rosalillita in Baja California. The epithet, cornea, is in reference to the cortex appearing hard and close textured.
Niebla disrupta is a fruticose lichen that grows on rocks along the foggy Pacific Coast of California, from Marin County to San Luis Obispo County, in the Channel Islands, and on Guadalupe Island in Baja California. The epithet, disrupta was given by William Nylander possibly in reference to the terminal vine-like branchlets exhibiting a disruption or slight change in the direction of growth where apothecia develop, or possibly to the branchlets that appear to break off.
Niebla eburnea is a fruticose lichen that grows on rocks along the foggy Pacific Coast of North America, from Mendocino County in California south to near Punta Santa Rosalillita in Baja California, and also in the Channel Islands. The epithet, eburnea is in reference to the ivory like appearance of the cortex.
Niebla flabellata is a fruticose lichen that grows on rocks along the foggy Pacific Coast of Baja California in the Northern Vizcaíno Desert, from San Fernando Canyon to the northern shore of the Vizcaíno Peninsula west to Cedros Island. The epithet, flabellata is in reference to the flattened branches of the thallus.