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Physcia tribacia (Ach.) Nyl.

Data Set Maintenance: Data set compiled (from Sonoran Desert Lichen Flora Vol. 1). Data set author(s): Bungartz F. (02-02-22). Data set to be published after submission; February 2002.

Nomenclature: Current taxonomic status: accepted. Taxonomic rank: species. Currently accepted name Physcia tribacia (Ach.) Nyl. Physcia. Physciaceae Zahlbr. (1898); Lecanorineae; Lecanorales.

Type Information: Basionym: Lecanora tribacia Ach. Type: Physcia tribacia (Ach.) Nyl.

Biogeography: Northern hemispheric; holarctic and boreal (temperate, not boreal); coastal, colline, submontane, montane, and upper montane. Continent: Asia-Temperate, Europe, Northern America, and Southern America. Checklist records: Germany, Mexico, and Sonoran Desert (only known from a few localities in Sonora, Sinaloa and Baja California Sur).

Ecology: Biotroph; lichenized; corticolous or saxicolous; episubstratic; growing sun-exposed or partially shaded; under conditions which are dry or moist.

Thallus: Foliose, subdivided into main parts, lobed; imbricate; separate thallus parts up to 1 mm wide. Thallus Size and Differentiation: Up to 3 cm in diameter. Thallus Outline: Irregular or orbicular; margin crenate (sometimes scale-like) or lobulate (crenulate); soon disappearing. Upper Surface: Pale grey (or cream colored with darker margins), glossy (shiny); immaculate; epruinose; eciliate; without hairs; not isidate; sorediate; soralia terminal (developing from lower surface, eroding the tip); not blastidiate; not schizidiate; not lobulate. Lower Surface: Present, grey (often weakly rose coloured), white, or pale brown; attached by holdfasts (true rhizines); rhizinate; rhizines sparse, brown (brownish, concolorous with lower surface) or white, without projections, not branched or branched (rhizines simple to sparsely branched), sparsely furcate; not sorediate; not tomentose.

Upper Cortex: Present; outer cortical layer paraplectenchymatous (with rounded cells); inner cortical layer paraplectenchymatous (with rounded cells). Medulla: White. Lower Cortex: Present.

Reproduction Strategy: With sexual (and possible asexual) stages. Ascocarps: Apothecioid, orbicular, soon sessile to substipitate, sparse, up to 2 mm in diam.. Margin: Lecanorine, persistent, distinct; sorediate; not isidiate; not ciliate; not hirsute. Disk: Plane; black or dark brown; epruinose. Epithecium: With epithecium (simple or forked); apical cells subulate (clavate with dark brown cap), pale brown. Hymenium: White; not inspers. Interascal Hyphae: Scarcely branched (paraphyses single or forked above). Subhymenium: White. Hypothecium: White.

Asci: Cylindrical.

Ascospores: Physcia-type and Pachysporaria-type, c. 8 per ascus, ellipsoid, (16)-17.5-21.5-(22.5) µm long, (7.5)-8.5-10.5-(12) µm wide; septa present; transversally septate; 1-transversally septate; wall thickened at the septum, becoming pigmented, dark brown (at maturity) or middle brown.

Conidiomata: Present; strongly abundant.

Conidia: Bacilliform (not bacilliform: subcylindrical); 4-6 µm long; 1 µm wide.

Secondary Metabolites: Present; atranorin.

Spot Tests: Present reactions. Upper surface: K + deep yellow, C –, KC –, PD + yellow; cortex: KC + deep yellow, –, PD + yellow; medulla: K – C –, KC –, PD – soredia: K – KC –.

(report generated 13.Nov.2007)


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