Xanthoparmelia kolriana Jayalal, Divakar & Hur, 2014

Jayalal, Udeni, Divakar, Pradeep K., Joshi, Santosh, Oh, Soon Ok & Hur, Jae-Seoun, 2014, Overview of Xanthoparmelia taxa from South Korea including the description of two new species (Parmeliaceae, Ascomycota), Phytotaxa 181 (2), pp. 96-109 : 101

Xanthoparmelia kolriana Jayalal, Divakar & Hur , sp. nov. ( Fig. 2 )

MycoBank # MB 808644

Thallus adnate to loosely adnate thallus, upper surface yellow-green, lower surface black, isidia subglobose to cylindrical, simple to branched and containing atranorin, and salazinic acid as major medullary extrolites.

Type: — SOUTH KOREA. Jeonam Prov. , Mt. Hugseok, 203 m alt, 34°41’N, 126°40’E, 23. 09. 2005, J. S. Hur –050465 (holotype: KoLRI 003369!) .

Thallus foliose, adnate to loosely adnate, saxicolous, 3–5 cm wide; lobes sublinear to subirregular, 1–6 mm wide, 190–260 μm thick, short flat to somewhat concave, contiguous to sparingly imbricate; upper surface dull yellowish green, continuous, emaculate, shiny, subrugulose, smooth, flat, and shiny at the lobe apices, becoming dull and cracked in the older parts of the thallus, rather fragile, isidiate; isidia moderate, subglobose to cylindrical, simple to branched, 0.13–0.18 mm diameter, 0.1–0.4 mm high, tips syncorticate, base somewhat constricted, medulla white, 170–200 μm thick, lower cortex 10–15 μm thick, lower surface somewhat rugose, black, margins dark brown, moderately rhizinate. Rhizines simple to sparsely furcate, blackish, 0.2–0.6 mm long. Pycnidia common. Conidia weakly bifusiform, 6–7.5 × 1–1.8 μm. Apothecia not seen.

Chemistry: — Thallus K + (yellow), C–, KC–, P–; Medulla K + (yellow-red), C–, KC–, P+ (pale orange). HPLC / TLC: usnic acid (major), atranorin (major), choloroatranorin (minor) salazinic acid (major), norstictic acid (minor), and unknown compounds of retention times in minutes at 3.156, 3.790 and 4.579 .

Etymology: —The specific epithet kolriana is derived from the name of Korean Lichen Research Institute (KoLRI), the first place devoted to lichenological work in South Korea.

Habitat and distribution: —Found on rock surfaces at mid elevation.

Remarks: —This new species is characterized by the yellowish green upper surface, the adnate to loosely adnate thallus, the black lower surface, the presence simple to branched, subglobose to cylindrical isidia and by the presence of atranorin and salazinic acid as major components in the cortex and medulla respectively, together with cortical usnic acid. Unfortunately, we failed to obtain ITS sequences for this new taxon so its phylogenetic relationships remain unclear.

This new species resembles X. murina (Kurok.) Elix (2003b: 400) by the presence of adnate to loosely adnate thallus, sublinear to subirregular lobes, black lower surface and the presence salazinic acid and atranorin. However, it is differentiated by dull yellowish green thallus, the presence of isidia with constricted base and usnic acid in the upper cortex. X. atrocapnodes (Elix & J. Johnst.) Elix (2003b: 398) is another related species, but it contains norstictic acid as major compounds and lacks usnic acid. X. tinctina (Maheu & A. Gillet) Hale (1974: 489) , is also similar to X. kolriana , but lacks atranorin and chloroatranorin.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Xanthoparmelia kolriana. A. Habit; B. subglobose to cylindrical isidia on thallus; C. transverse section through thallus (uc—upper cortex, al—algal layer, m—medulla, lc—lower cortex); D. weakly bifusiform conidia; Scale Bars A = 1 cm, B = 0.5 mm, C = 20 μm, D = 5 μm.