Sclerophyton Eschw. (1824)

Data Set Maintenance: Data set standard item. Data set author(s): Rambold G. Data set reviewer(s): Egea J.M. & Torrente P. (00-03-20) and Scholz P. (02-05-17); revised; to be published after submission.

Nomenclature: Current taxonomic status: accepted or basionymous. Taxonomic rank: genus. Number of known taxa within this rank: 8. Sclerophyton. Roccellaceae Chevall. (1826); Arthoniales.

Type Information: Type: Sclerophyton elegans Eschw.

Taxonomic Literature: Clauzade G. & Roux C., Bull. Soc. Bot. Centre-Ouest N.S. - Numero
Special 7: 1-893 [707] (1985); Egea J.M. & Torrente P., Bryologist 98: 207-217 (1995); Egea J.M. & Torrente P. in: Nash T.H. III et al. (eds) Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region vol. 1, 458-461, Tempe (2002); Purvis O.W. in: Purvis O.W. et al. (eds), The Lichen Flora of Great Britain and Ireland, London (1992); Torrente P. & Egea J.M., Biblioth. Lichenol. 32: 1-282 (1989).

Biogeography: Checklist records: Great Britain, Italy, Sonoran Desert, and United States and Canada (continental).

Ecology: Biotroph; lichenized; corticolous; substrate non-calciferous.

Lichen Photobionts: Primary photobiont present; trentepohlioid. Secondary photobiont absent.

Thallus: Crustose, not subdivided parts, granular or rimose. Thallus Outline: Soon disappearing or persistent. Upper Surface: Grey, pale green, brown, white, olive, or brownish yellow; special structures absent; not pseudocyphellate; eciliate; without hairs; not isidate; not sorediate; not cephalodiate; not lobulate; without granules granules, without thalloconidia thalloconidia. Lower Surface: Attached by the whole lower surface; special structures absent or present:; not pseudocyphellate; not cyphellate; not rhizinate or rhizinate; without thalloconidia thalloconidia; not cavernulate; not tomentose.

Reproduction Strategy: Only known as sterile, asexually reproducing form or with sexual (and possible asexual) stages. Ascocarps: Apothecioid or perithecioid, orbicular, irregular, linear, or stellate, forming all across the thallus surface, not emerging, becoming adnate or soon sessile, stromatic. Margin: Indistinct, distinct, or prominent; external filaments absent. Exciple: Dark brown, white, or brownish yellow. Periphyses: Absent. Epithecium: Apical cells brown. Hymenium: Iodine reaction: Lugol’s negative or Lugol’s positive, hemiamyloid. Interascal Hyphae: Present, scarcely branched or distinctly branched, distinctly anastomosed. Hypothecium: Black, brown, white, or brownish yellow.

Asci: Tholus thickened, amyloid, with amyloid tube or entirely amyloid throughout; ocular chamber indistinct; dehiscence bitunicate; exoascus not amyloid, hemiamyloid.

Ascospores: c. 8 per ascus, oblong-obtuse, ovoid, clavate, or fusiform, 13-40-(45) µm long, 4-6-12 µm wide, obtuse or aciculate; septa present; transversally septate or both transversally and longitudinally, 3-10-transversally septate; wall thick, distinctly differentiated into primary and secondary wall, not thickened at the septum, dark brown, middle brown, grey, or hyaline, in Lugol's Solution negative, wall not ornamented.

Conidiomata: Absent resp. not observed or present; pycnidial; immersed or adnate, formed all accross the thallus surface.

Conidia: Filiform, bacilliform, or curved (rarely straight); microconidial; aseptate.

Secondary Metabolites: Present, of the following substance class(es): orcinol depsides, ß-orcinol depsides, ß-orcinol depsidones, or (anthra-)quinones.

(report generated 04.Okt.2007)