Lecanographa lynceoides (Müll. Arg.) 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 Data set not to be published after submission.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. Genus of unknown placement (incertae sedis) (Roccellaceae Chevall. 1826); Arthoniales.

Taxonomic Literature: Egea J. M. & Torrente P., Bibliohteca Lichenologica 54: 1-205 (1994).

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

Ecology: Biotroph; lichenized; corticolous; episubstratic; growing partially shaded or fully shaded; under conditions which are dry.

Lichen Photobionts: Primary photobiont present; trentepohlioid.

Thallus: Crustose, rimose or areolate (primarily areolate); separate thallus parts thin. Thallus Outline: Persistent; pronounced, but not forming cushions. Upper Surface: Grey or pale grey, smooth or rough; special structures absent; epruinose; without hairs; not sorediate.

Reproduction Strategy: With sexual (and possible asexual) stages. Ascocarps: Apothecioid, orbicular, irregular, or linear, forming independently from the host thallus or mycelium, not emerging, not constricted at the base, abundant, .4-.5 mm in diam.. Margin: Smooth, persistent, distinct or indistinct, black or dark brown, slightly pruinose; with surface structures surface structures; external filaments absent. Disk: Plane to slightly weakly convex; black or dark brown; fully exposed, pruinose, pruina scarce or abundant, white or pale grey. 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 or brownish red. Hymenium: 75-100 µm high; white; iodine reaction: Lugol’s negative; hemiamyloid. Interascal Hyphae: Present, distinctly branched, distinctly anastomosed; cells 1.5-12 µm wide. Subhymenium: 15-40 µm high; brown. Hypothecium: Brownish red; pigment homogenously distributed throughout.

Asci: Narrowly clavate; indistinctly stipitate, 55-65 µm long, 11-14 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, oblong-obtuse, 17-23-(24) µm long, 4-5 µm wide, obtuse; septa present; (3)-4-5-transversally septate; lumina apically enlarged, constricted at the centre; wall thin, laterally constricted where the septum meets the spore wall, becoming pigmented, hyaline or pale brown, not ornamented, distinctly halonate, i.e., with a thick mucilaginous sheath.

Conidiomata: Present; pycnidial; sparse; immersed.

Conidia: Filiform or curved; microconidial; 10-15 µm long; 1 µm wide; aseptate.

Secondary Metabolites: Present; metabolite(s) of unresolved identity: present.

Spot Tests: Absent or present reactions. Upper surface: K – (negative) or + deep yellow, C –, KC –, PD – ascocarp margin (in section): K + green.

(report generated 25.Okt.2007)