Sticta maculofuliginosa 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 : 11-13

Sticta maculofuliginosa Moncada & Lücking , spec. nov. ( Fig. 4 )

MycoBank #801846

Differing from Sticta fuliginosa by the distinctly maculate lobes, the sparsely tomentose lower side and the absence of a secondary lower tomentum, as well as the lack of papillae on the cells of the basal membrane of the cyphellae.

Holotype: — COLOMBIA. Cesar: Mun. Río de Oro, Bosque ; 8° 17' N, 73° 25' E; 1701 m; 15 Oct 2010, Moncada 4156 ( UDBC; isotypes: COL, F).

Primary photobiont cyanobacterial ( Nostoc ). Stipe absent. Thallus orbicular to irregular in outline, up to 10 cm diam., sparsely branched, with 0–2 branches per 5 cm radius, branching anisotomous to polytomous; lobes suborbicular, adnate, horizontal, imbricate, involute to weakly revolute, with their apices rounded and revolute and their margins entire to lacerate, not thickened; lobe internodes 5–7 mm long, (2–)6–8(–15) mm broad; thallus papyrose, fragile. Upper surface foveolate, greenish grey when fresh, greenish to brownish grey in the herbarium, matt; surface glabrous, without papillae and pruina but with abundant, irregular, often confluent, whitish to yellowish maculae; marginal cilia absent. Apothecia not observed. Isidia abundant, predominantly laminal, dispersed, branched to coralloid, vertically to slightly obliquely oriented, up to 0.5 mm long and 0.05 mm broad, of the same color as the thallus, matt, cylindrical to flattened and becoming spathulate. Lower surface costillate to faveolate, cream-colored to yellowish; primary tomentum sparse, thin, pubescent, soft, cream-colored; secondary tomentum absent. Rhizines sparse, towards the thallus center, tubiform, brown, up to 2 mm long. Cyphellae 1–20 per cm 2 towards the thallus center and 21–40 per cm 2 towards the margin, scattered, irregular, urceolate with wide pore, immersed to erumpent, remaining below the level of the primary tomentum, with the margin thin, cream-colored, without tomentum; pore (0.5–)0.6–1(–1.2) mm diam.; basal membrane pubescent, cream-colored, K –, C –, KC–, P –. Medulla lax, de color pale yellow, K –, C –, KC–, P –. No substances detected by TLC.

Upper cortex paraplectenchymatous, 10–30 µm thick, uniform, consisting of 2–3 cell layers with cells 4–10 µm diam., their walls 0.6–2.5 µm thick and their lumina rounded to isodiametric, 2.5–8 µm diam. Photobiont layer 20–40 µm thick, its cells 10–15 µm diam. Medulla 35–75 µm thick, its hyphae 2.5 µm broad, without crystals. Lower cortex paraplectenchymatous, 12–20 µm thick, with 2–3 cell layers; cells 3–13 µm diam., their walls 0.6–2.5 µm thick. Hairs of lower primary tomentum 15–115 µm long, in fascicles of 6–12, unbranched hyphae, septate with free apices. Cyphellae cavity 110–120 µm deep; cells of basal membrane without papillae.

Distribution and Ecology: —South American Andes ( Colombia). Sticta maculofuliginosa has been found between 1700 and 3750 m altitude, ranging from montane rain forest to the páramo region in the Cordilleras Central and Oriental; it grows in shaded to moderately exposed microhabitats, mostly on bark but sometimes also on rock. Commonly associated bryophytes are Metzgeria , Plagiochila , and Zelometeorium Manuel ( Manuel 1977) .

Etymology: —The epithet refers to the superficial similarity with Sticta fuliginosa and the distinct maculae.

Remarks: —Judging from its morphological characters, this new species is likely the cyanomorph of an unknown chloromorph in a photosymbiodemic species ( Sanders 2001). In other species from Colombia in which both the chloro- and the cyanomorph is known, the cyanomorph commonly forms small, greyish thalli with distinct maculae and often lacerate lobe margins. This view is supported by the phylogenetic position of the new species, which clusters with other photosymbiodemic species in the same clade ( Moncada et al. 2012a), together with the well-known photosymbiodemic species Sticta canariensis (= S. dufourii ; Armaleo & Clerc 1991; Purvis 2000). In spite of its superficial resemblance with S. fuliginosa , S. maculofuliginosa is not closely related to that species and can easily be separated from the latter (see Suárez & Lücking 2012) by its maculate lobes, the sparsely tomentose lower side and the absence of a secondary lower tomentum, as well the lack of papillae on the cells of the basal membrane of the cyphellae.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes): — COLOMBIA. Antioquia: Mun. Santa Rosa de Osos, road to San José de la Montaña ; 2500 m; 10 Jun 1998, Lopera 74 ( COL) . Boyacá: Mun. Tipacoque, PR Tipacoque ; 1850 m; 2010, Simijaca 1810 ( UDBC) . Cesar: Mun. Chipaque, Vereda Marilandia, vía Santuario ; 2400 m; 8 Sep 2011, Moncada 4786b, 4871 ( UDBC) . Mun. Facatativá, Valle del Rio Dulce, 10 km, northeast of Facatativá ; 2600 m; 1 Feb 1979, Sipman et al. 10345b ( COL, L) . Mun. San Francisco, Vereda Sabaneta, near Quebrada Cueva Grande ; 2500 m; 17 Jul 1986, Sipman et al. 23599to ( B, COL) . Mun. Supatá, Alto El Tablazo, road from radar station to Supatá ; 3200 m; 20 Oct 1988, Sipman & Aguirre 27465 ( B, COL) .

Risaralda: Mun . Santa Rosa de Cabal, Costado Occidentral, Cordillera Central, 1 km northeast of Finca La Sierra ; 3750 m; 17 Sep 1984, Aguirre & Sipman 5524 ( B, COL) . Camino Real Termales de Santa Rosa and Hacienda La Sierra ; 4° 49' N, 75° 30' E; 3510 m; 3 May 1986, Wolf 867 ( B, COL) . Tolima: Mun. Ibagué, Las Juntas, El Silencio, Sendero Rancho to La Cueva; 2600–2900 m; 7 May 2000, Moncada & Dávila 2490c ( UDBC) .

Figures

FIGURE 4. Sticta maculofuliginosa (holotype collection). A. Thallus in situ. B. Thallus in herbarium. C. Lower surface. D. Lower surface enlarged. E. Maculate surface with laminal isidia. F. Laminal isidia enlarged. G. Microscopic section through thallus and cyphella. H. Microscopic section through thallus and isidium. Scale in A–D = 5 mm, in E and F = 1 mm, in G and H = 50 µm.