Cladonia corymbites Nyl.

Yánez-Ayabaca, A., Ahti, T. & Bungartz, F., 2013, The Family Cladoniaceae (Lecanorales) in the Galapagos Islands, Phytotaxa 129 (1), pp. 1-33 : 15-16

Cladonia corymbites Nyl. , in Polakowsky (1877: 225)

( Fig. 3f )

Primary thallus persistent to evanescent, laciniate squamules, esorediate, epruinose; podetia common, 1–2 cm tall, phyllopodiate, unbranched to slightly divaricately branched; axils closed with age, but in young podetia often open; tips blunt, ascyphose; surface mostly ecorticate, cortex restricted to the base, densely covered with microsquamules, often intermixed with macrosquamules along the length of the podetium, esorediate, egranulose; pycnidia and apothecia not seen.

Spot tests and chemistry: P+ orange red, K-, C-, KC-, UV-; fumarprotocetraric acid.

Distribution and ecology: Currently know only from Floreana Island ( Ahti 2000); apparently a rare species, but possiby overlooked amongst morphologically similar taxa, known only from the humid highlands, on thin soil over rock, rarely as epiphyte.

Notes: Cladonia corymbites can be confused with C. cartilaginea , but that species forms only very few microsquamules and its macrosquamules are always restricted to its base. In contrast, C. corymbites is typically densely covered with both micro- and macrosquamules along the entire length of its podetia.

Cladonia corymbosula is another very similar species, but it forms podetia that are densely sorediategranulose and always lack microsquamules. Unlike C. corymbites , both C. cartilaginea and C. corymbosula are not phylopodiate, i.e., their squamules are persistent and not gradually being transformed into podetia.

Selected specimens examined: ECUADOR. GALAPAGOS: Floreana Island , 300 m, 1976, Gradstein L- 62998 (US) . Isabela Island Volcán Sierra Negra, close to the southern crater rim, along the trail to Alemania , 0º51'12.7”S, 91º8'40.5”W, humid zone, on soil, 16 Aug 2008, Bungartz, F. 8334 ( CDS 40980) .

Figures

FIGURE 3. a–c Cladonia confusa. a thalli of both forms growing side by side, upper pale greenish yellow thallus of C. confusa f. confusa, lower, white thallus with brownish tinge of C. confusa f. bicolor (Bungartz 3985, 3986, scale 10 mm); b close-up of C. confusa f. bicolor, the epithet bicolor justified by the more brownish, sun-exposed parts and the whitish pale underside of the podetia (Bungartz 3986, scale 3 mm); c close-up of the UV+ chemotype of C. confusa f. confusa, the inset shows a predominantly trichotomous branching pattern and an arachnoid granular surface of the podetia (Nugra 261, scale 3 mm); d close-up of the UV– chemotype of C. confusa f. confusa, the inset shows a predominantly dichotomous branching pattern with a uneven podetial surface (Cavagnaro 26, scale 3 mm); e Cladonia corniculata (Sipman L-45, scale 5 mm); f Cladonia corymbites (Bungartz 8334, scale 3 mm).