Lecanographa hypothallina (Zahlbr.) Egea & Torrente

Data Set Maintenance: Data set authentic and standard item. Data set author(s): Egea J. M. & Torrente P. (00-03-22). Data set not to be published after submission.

Nomenclature: Current taxonomic status: accepted. Taxonomic rank: species. Lecanographa. Synonyms: Platygrapha hypothallina Zahlbr., Opegrapha hypothallina (Zahlbr.) Tehler; Lecanactis nashii Egea & Torrente; Opegrapha hassei Zahlbr.; genus of unknown placement (incertae sedis) (Roccellaceae Chevall. 1826); Arthoniales.

Taxonomic Literature: Egea J.M. & Torrente P., The Bryologist 95: 161-165 (1992); Egea J.M. & Torrente P., Bibliotheca Lichenologica 54: 1-205 (1994); Tehler A., The Bryologist 96: 219-222 (1993).

Biogeography: Continent: Northern America. Checklist records: Sonoran Desert.

Ecology: Biotroph; lichenized; episubstratic; growing partially shaded or fully shaded; under conditions which are moist; substrate non-calciferous.

Lichen Photobionts: Primary photobiont present; trentepohlioid.

Thallus: Crustose, rimose or areolate (primarily areolate); separate thallus parts thick. Thallus Outline: Soon disappearing or persistent; vestigial to pronounced, but not forming cushions. Upper Surface: White, pale grey, or brownish yellow, smooth, pulverulaceous; special structures absent; epruinose; without hairs; not sorediate.

Reproduction Strategy: With sexual (and possible asexual) stages. Ascocarps: Apothecioid, orbicular or linear, forming independently from the host thallus or mycelium, not emerging, becoming adnate to soon sessile, not constricted at the base, moderately abundant or abundant, .3-1 mm in diam.. Margin: Smooth, excluded, rarely indistinct to distinct to prominent, black or dark brown, slightly pruinose; with surface structures surface structures; external filaments absent. Disk: Plane or weakly convex; black or dark brown; fully exposed, pruinose, pruina abundant, white. Exciple: Hyphae not easily discerned; carbonized; brownish red; inspersed with crystals. Amphithecium (thalline excipulum): Photobiont absent. Episamma: With episamma; insoluble in KOH. Epithecium: With epithecium; apical cells not swollen or slightly swollen, surrounded by a diffuse pigment, dark brown. Hymenium: 100-140 µm high; white or pale brown; iodine reaction: Lugol’s negative; hemiamyloid. Interascal Hyphae: Present, distinctly branched, distinctly anastomosed; cells 2 µm wide. Subhymenium: 25-50 µm high; pale brown. Hypothecium: Brownish red; pigment homogenously distributed throughout.

Asci: Narrowly clavate; indistinctly stipitate, 75-110 µm long, 15-20 µm wide; tholus thickened, amyloid, hemiamyloid, in Lugol's Solution + light blue, with amyloid tube; dehiscence bitunicate; endoascus with a hemiamyloid inner layer.

Ascospores: c. 8 per ascus, fusiform, 19-26-(30) µm long, 4-5.5-(6) µm wide, aciculate; septa present; 6-7-transversally septate; lumina apically and basally tapering; wall thin, becoming pigmented, hyaline or pale brown, not ornamented, distinctly halonate, i.e., with a thick mucilaginous sheath.

Conidiomata: Present.

Conidia: Bacilliform; microconidial; 5-10 µm long; 1 µm wide; aseptate.

Secondary Metabolites: Present; erythrin, gyrophoric acid, or lecanoric acid, metabolite(s) of unresolved identity: present.

Spot Tests: Present reactions. Upper surface: K – (negative), C + red, PD – or + yellow; ascocarp margin (in section): K + green.

(report generated 25.Okt.2007)