Loxospora chloropolia (Erichsen) Ptach-Styn, Guzow-Krzem., Tonsberg & Kukwa, 2024

Ptach-Styn, Lucja, Guzow-Krzeminska, Beata, Lendemer, James C., Tonsberg, Tor & Kukwa, Martin, 2024, Phylogeny of the genus Loxospora s. l. (Sarrameanales, Lecanoromycetes, Ascomycota), with Chicitaea gen. nov. and five new combinations in Chicitaea and Loxospora, MycoKeys 102, pp. 155-181 : 155

Loxospora chloropolia (Erichsen) Ptach-Styn, Guzow-Krzem., Tonsberg & Kukwa comb. nov.

Fig. 7

Pertusaria chloropolia Erichsen, in Zahlbr., Rabenh. Krypt.-Fl. Ed. 2, 9(5[1]): 645 (1935[1936]). Basionym. Type. [Switzerland. Jura Mts:] Mont de Baulmes, 1100 m elev., [on Abies ] 1934, Meylan (lectotype: HBG!, selected here; MycoBank No: MBT 10017691).

Pertusaria chloropolia f. cana Erichsen, in Zahlbr., Rabenh. Krypt.-Fl. Ed. 2, 9(5[1]): 646 (1935[1936]). Syn. nov. Type. [Ukraine. Carpathians:] Lopušanka, 500 m elev., [corticolous] 1931, Nádvorník (lectotype: HBG!, selected here; MycoBank No: MBT 10017692).

Typifications.

The type specimen of Pertusaria chloropolia consists of thin, continuous thallus with discrete soralia forming from flat parts of thalli or from slightly convex areoles and contains thamnolic acid (detected by I. M. Brodo). In the type specimen of P. chloropolia f. cana , soralia are partly damaged, but, similarly to the type of P. chloropolia , the type consists of thin, continuous thallus with discrete soralia and contains thamnolic acid (detected by I. M. Brodo). In the protologue of P. chloropolia f. cana , the type locality was cited as 'Tschechoslowakei: Karpathoruβland, Lopusanka’ ( Erichsen 1935), but to our knowledge, it is now located in western Ukraine. The name ‘Lopusanka’ is a spelling error as, on the label, it is ‘Lopušanka’.

Erichsen (1935) cited only one locality for both names. However, the lectotypes are selected, because it is not known if, at the time of describing both taxa, C. F. E. Erichsen used only one element upon which the validating descriptions were based (Art. 9.3; Turland et al. (2018); see also McNeill (2014)).

Description.

Thallus crustose, grey, matt or more often shiny, thin, continuous, slightly folded, cracked to cracked areolate. Areoles flat or rarely convex, not constricted at the base. Soralia whitish to greenish-grey, flat or more often convex, rounded or irregular, mostly discrete and separated, bursting from flat parts of thallus or from areoles, sometimes crowded and the neighbouring soralia more or less fused, but still the boundaries often visible between them or, very rarely, soralia fused into irregular patches in older parts of thallus. Soredia up to 50 µm in diam., often in consoredia up to 100 µm wide. Apothecia very rare, single, up to 1.2 mm in diam. Thalline margin present, esorediate or partly to completely sorediate. Excipulum proporium not evident. Disc reddish-brown, thinly white pruinose. Hymenium up to 100 µm high. Epihymenium straw-brown (K+ pale reddish-brown), with dense granules dissolving in K. Paraphyses not capitate, sometimes anastomosing. Asci 8-spored, with uniformly KI+ blue apical dome. Ascospores 0-3(-5)-septate, spiralled in asci, hyaline, fusiform, curved, 35-48 × 5-7 µm. Pycnidia not known. Photobiont chlorococcoid, cells up to 12 µm in diam.

Chemistry.

Thamnolic acid (major), elatinic acid (minor, trace or absent) and squamatic acid (trace or absent). Spot tests: cortex, apothecial section, soralia and medulla K+ lemon-yellow, Pd+ yellow to orange, UV-.

Notes.

Loxospora chloropolia differs from L. elatina in having a thin, continuous to cracked-areolate thallus with mostly regular soralia, which are discrete at least in young parts of thalli (Fig. 7 ). Areoles in the central parts of larger thalli may become convex (in few specimens; Fig. 7E ), but are never tuberculate or isidia-like as in L. elatina (Fig. 8 ). Soralia develop by breaking the cortex and are mostly regular, discrete and convex, rarely flat. Sometimes the neighbouring soralia are fused; however it is still possible to detect the boundaries between individual soralia in most cases. Loxospora elatina , in contrast, has thalli which are, in most cases, tuberculate (sometimes only locally) or with areoles that resemble coarse isidia (Fig. 8 ). Tuberculate areoles are grouped or dispersed and constricted at the base. Soralia develop from the top of the tuberculate or pustulate areoles and are never regular as in L. chloropolia and, in most thalli, form granular-sorediate patches covering large areas (sometimes almost the entire thallus is covered with soredia; Fig. 8D ). Moreover, these species differ in several nucleotide positions in both nuITS rDNA and RPB1 markers (Tables 2 , 3 ).

Loxospora chloropolia can be confused with sorediate species of Chicitaea , but they contain 2'- O -methylperlatolic acid and the thallus is K negative ( Lendemer 2013; Guzow-Krzemińska et al. 2018). Lecanora norvegica Tønsberg is another similar species, which occurs on similar substrates, but it contains atranorin and protocetraric acid ( Tønsberg 1992; Kukwa and Kubiak 2007).

Habitat and distribution.

The species is corticolous and grows in deciduous or mixed forests on bark of Abies alba , Acer pseudoplatanus , Alnus glutinosa , Betula spp., Corylus avellana , Fagus sylvatica , Juniperus communis , Larix decidua , Picea abies , Pinus sylvestris , Populus tremula , Quercus spp., Sorbus aucuparia and Tilia cordata . So far, it is known from Czechia, Great Britain, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland (type locality) and Ukraine.

Specimens examined.

See Suppl. material 3.

Figures

Figure 7. Morphology of Loxospora chloropolia (for details of specimens, see Table 1, Suppl. material 3) A-C smooth to folded thalli with mostly discrete soralia (A UGDA L- 60095 B UGDA L- 31983 C UGDA L- 54253) D, E thalli with folded to areolate areas (D UGDA L- 60093 E UGDA L- 60096) F apothecia with sorediate margins (Ellis L 456, E 01043201). Scale bars: 1 mm.

Figure 8. Morphology of Loxospora elatina (for details of specimens, see Table 1, Suppl. material 3) A, B thalli with tuberculate areoles and irregular and partly fused soralia (A UGDA L- 47757 B UGDA L- 47762) C thallus with soralia bursting from areoles and later fused (UGDA L- 47761) D soralia covering most parts of the thallus (UGDA L- 47760) E, F apothecia with sorediate or esorediate margins (O L- 97759). Scale bars: 1 mm.