Sticta isidiokunthii Moncada & Lücking, 2012

Moncada, Bibiana & Lücking, Robert, 2012, Ten new species of Sticta and counting: Colombia as a hot spot for unrecognized diversification in a conspicuous macrolichen genus, Phytotaxa 74 (1), pp. 1-29 : 9-11

Sticta isidiokunthii Moncada & Lücking , spec. nov. ( Fig. 3 )

MycoBank #801845

Differing from Sticta kunthii in the presence of marginal isidia.

Holotype: — COLOMBIA. Cundinamarca: Mun. La Calera, Parque Nacional Natural Chingaza, Monterrendondo ; 4º 44' N, 73º 51' W; 3430 m; 13 Apr 2011, Moncada 4630 ( UDBC; isotypes: COL, F).

Primary photobiont cyanobacterial ( Nostoc ). Stipe absent. Thallus irregular to suborbicular, up to 15 cm diam., moderately branched, with 3–5 branches per 5 cm radius, branching polytomous; lobes laciniate to flabellate, horizontal to subpendulous, imbricate, involute to weakly canaliculate, with their apices irregular and involute and their margins crenate to lacerate, not thickened; lobe internodes (5–)8–25(–35) mm long, (5–)10–20(–30) mm broad; thallus coriaceous. Upper surface pitted to rugose-foveolate towards the center, dark green when fresh, greyish brown with darker apices in the herbarium, shiny; surface glabrous, without papillae and pruina but with irregular, scattered, white maculae; marginal cilia absent. Apothecia sparse, principally laminal, dispersed, subpedicellate, with pronounced invagination on lower side, up to 2.5 mm diam.; disc orange-brown to red-brown, shiny; margin hirsute, with white to brown hairs. Isidia abundant, predominantly marginal, aggregate, branched to coralloid, vertically to obliquely oriented, up to 0.5 mm long and 0.5 mm broad, darker than the thallus, greenish brown to dark brown, shiny, granular to cylindrical or very slightly flattened; basal stalk when present flattened, without cyphellae. Lower surface uneven, beige to dark brown towards the center; primary tomentum dense, thick but thinner towards the margin, spongy, soft, beige; secondary tomentum absent. Rhizines absent. Cyphellae 1–10 per cm 2 towards the thallus center and 21–40 per cm 2 towards the margin, scattered, irregular, urceolate with wide pore, erumpent to sessile, remaining below the level of the primary tomentum, with the margin elevated and involute, cream-colored, without tomentum; pore (0.25–)0.5–1(–2) mm diam.; basal membrane pubescent, white, K – to K + pale yellow, C –, KC–, P –. Medulla compact, white, K + ochraceous yellow, C –, KC–, P –. No substances detected by TLC.

Upper cortex paraplectenchymatous, 25–50 µm thick, uniform, consisting of 2–3 cell layers with cells 8–19 µm diam., their walls 0.6–1.5 µm thick and their lumina rounded to isodiametric, 6–16 µm diam. Photobiont layer 25–50 µm thick, its cells 10–20 µm diam. Medulla 50–150 µm thick, its hyphae 2.5 µm broad, without crystals. Lower cortex paraplectenchymatous, 20–25 µm thick, with 2 cell layers; cells 8–14 µm diam., their walls 1.2–1.5 µm thick. Hairs of lower primary tomentum 125–450 µm long, in fascicles of 12–20, unbranched hyphae, septate with free apices. Cyphellae cavity 100–130 µm deep; cells of basal membrane without papillae. Apothecia biatorine, 400–500 µm high, with distinct stipe; excipulum 100–130 µm broad, laterally with projecting hairs. Hymenium 70–80 µm high; epihymenium 2.5–5 µm high, orangebrown, without gelatinous upper layer. Ascospores not observed.

Distribution and Ecology: —South American Andes ( Colombia and Bolivia), found between 2290 and 3600 m altitude, in subandine forest and páramo regions, on bark of shrubs and treelets in more or less exposed microhabitats; usually associated with liverworts of the genera Metzgeria and Microlejeunea Stephani (1888) and lichens of the genera Leptogium (Ach.) Gray ( Gray 1821) , Erioderma Fée ( Fée 1825) , and Sticta .

Etymology: —This species resembles Sticta kunthii Hook f. ( Kunth 1822) in thallus morphology but produces isidia.

Remarks: —This new species has pitted thallus lobes and a general thallus morphology as in Sticta kunthii and its relatives ( Galloway 1995), but differs from those species in the marginal isidia, whereas apothecia are very rare. Sticta isidiokunthii is not the isidiate counterpart of S. kunthii s.str., but instead forms its own clade ( Moncada et al. 2012a). Because of the marginal isidia, S. isidiokunthii could be confused with S. weigelii and similar species ( McDonald et al. 2003; Galloway 2006), but differs from those in the pitted lobe surface and the pale underside.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes): — COLOMBIA. Boyacá: Mun. El Cocuy, Parque Nacional Natural El Cocuy, Alto de la Cueva ; 3800 m; 21 Apr 2011, Fonseca & Martínez 225b, 247 ( UDBC) . Mun. Villa de Leyva, SFF Iguaque , surroundings of the administrative building; 2805 m; 24 May 2000, Moncada & Dávila 844 ( UDBC) . Cundinamarca: Mun. Bogotá D. C., Parque Nacional Natural Sumapaz, Páramo de Chisacá, Santa Rosa , Bodegas de Sumapaz , Valle del Rio Colorados ( Santa Rosita ); 3460 m; 20 Aug 1976, Van der Hammen & Jaramillo-M. 4354 ( B, COL) . Mun. Choachí, El Verjón, PE Matarredonda ; 4º 33' N, 74º 00' E; 3220 m; 23 Jan 2011, Moncada 4587 ( UDBC) . Mun. Guasca, Páramo de Guasca ; 3350 m; 18 Aug 2011, Moncada 4760, 4761, 4764 ( UDBC) ; ibid.; Lücking 33302, 33320, 33330 ( F, UDBC) . Mun. La Calera, Parque Nacional Natural Chingaza, Monterredondo ; 4º 44' N, 73º 50' E; 3430 m; 13 Apr 2011, Moncada 4624, 4629, 4631, 4632, 4633, 4634, 4643 ( UDBC) . Zona de Amortiguación Parque Nacional Natural Chingaza, Vía del Ángulo towards Rincón del Oso ; 3600 m; 7 Nov 2011, Moncada 4959, 4969 ( UDBC) . Mun. San Antonio del Tequendama, PN Chicaque ; 2290 m; 23 May 1996, Moncada & Dávila 19b ( UDBC) . Norte de Santander: Mun. Toledo, Parque Nacional Natural Tamá, Sector Orocué , surroundings of administrative building; 2490 m; 11 Sep 2000, Moncada & Dávila 1047 ( UDBC) ; ibid.; 2650 m; 12 Sep 2000, Moncada & Dávila 1203 ( UDBC) . Tolima: Unknown locality; 1844, Goudot s.n. ( PC) . Mun. Santa Isabel, Camino Real between La Bodega and El Ochoral; 2940 m; 16 Feb 1980, Valencia & Boekhout 191to ( COL) .

BOLIVIA. La Paz: Mapiri ; Jan 1893, Bang 1754 ( US; as Sticta querzicans var. peruviana ).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Sticta isidiokunthii (A and C–H, holotype collection; B, Lücking 33346). A–B. Thallus in situ. C. Upper and lower surface in the herbarium. D. Apothecia. E. Lower surface enlarged. F. Isidia enlarged. G. Detail of isidia. H. Microscopic section through thallus showing cyphella. Scale in A and B = 10 mm, in C–G = 5 mm, in H = 100 µm.