Opuscula Philolichenum, 6: 149-156. 2009
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Opuscula Philolichenum, 6: 149–156. 2009. Four novel lichen taxa in the lichen biota of eastern North America 1 RICHARD C. HARRIS ABSTRACT. – Four new taxa are described affecting the lichen biota of eastern North America. Three are new species, Bacidia kekesiana, Cladonia acuminans (for the psoromic acid chemotype of Cladonia acuminata) and Scoliciosporum pennsylvanicum. The generic name Leimonis is provided to accommodate Lecidea erratica. Bacidia kekesiana and Scoliciosporum pennsylvanicum are illustrated. Scoliciosporum pruinosum is reported from eastern North America. INTRODUCTION As those who follow Opuscula Philolichenum are aware by now the lichen biota of eastern North America contains a plethora of undescribed lichen taxa. Three more species are dealt with here, driven in part by the acquisition of sufficient type material to distribute in the Lichens of Eastern North America exsiccati. The description of a generic name for Lecidea erratica Körber is prompted by 20 years of discomfort at treating it in Micarea Fr. where it has seemed to me from the beginning to be discordant (Lecidea Ach. seeming an even less desirable disposition). MATERIALS AND METHODS Specimens were studied with a Zeiss Stemi 200-C dissection microscope and images of the thallus and apothecia were captured using an Olympus DP20 digital camera using Microsuite Special Edition. Microscopic characters were measured in water with an Olympus BX51 microscope and images were captured in the same manner as above. The chemistry of representative specimens of all species was studied with Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) using solvent A following standardized methods. THE TAXA 1. Bacidia kekesiana R.C. Harris sp. nov. MYCOBANK #513033. PLATE 2 (PAGE 154). Bacidiae circumspectae valde similis sed excipulo epihymenioque cristalifero et conidiis brevioribus 4.5–5.5 x 1–1.2 μm differt. TYPE: U.S.A. VERMONT. ESSEX CO.: Town of Ferdinand, Wenlock Wildlife Management Area, near Moose Bog, 44°45’44”N, 71°44’09W, flooded Thuja swamp and adjacent spruce-fir, on trunk of Thuja at edge of swamp, 18.v.2008, R.C. Harris 54577 (NY, holotype; isotypes distributed as Lendemer, Lichens of Eastern North America exs. no. 341). 1 RICHARD C. HARRIS – Institute of Systematic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY, 10458– 5126, U.S.A. – e–mail: [email protected] 1491 DESCRIPTION. – Thallus immersed, white; photobiont “chlorococcoid”, in clumps, globose, 9–15 µm in diam. Apothecia mostly mottled pale tan and greenish black with some becoming entirely greenish black, initially ± flat with evident margin but very soon swollen and margin often not evident, 0.2–0.5 mm in diam., to 0.4 mm high, sometimes several smaller ones aggregated (then to 0.7 mm in diam.); margin tan to greenish black. Exciple colorless filled with minute, ± evenly distributed crystals (appearing brownish, K soluble, N insoluble), composed of ± radiating anastomosing hyphae with thick gelatinized walls, with crystals at boundary of exciple, to ca. 120 µm thick. Hypothecium colorless, gelatinized (hyphae with thick walls), to ca. 130 µm high. Epihymenium patchily green (K–, N+ red–purple), without crystals. Hymenium green streaked above, colorless below, ca. 50 µm high. Paraphyses slender, embedded in gelatinous matrix, unbranched, 1.3–2.2 µm across with tips mostly not expanded, a few expanded to ca. 1.7 μm with pigmented sheath. Asci with 8 spores in a single bundle, not spirally arranged. Ascospores acicular, colorless, 0–3– septate, 20–25.1–30 x 1.6–1.9–2.4 μm. Pycnidia globose, immersed, ca.0.1 mm in diam. Conidia bacilliform, 4.5–5.5 x 1–1.2 μm. CHEMISTRY. – No substances detected. Spot tests: K–, C–, KC–, P–, UV–. ETYMOLOGY. – This species is named to honor Jean Kekes, dedicated amateur bryologist, gourmet cook and generous gardener, who provided the opportunity to collect the specimen which precipitated its recognition as an undescribed species. DISTRIBUTION AND ECOLOGY. – The three known collections of Bacidia kekesiana suggest that it is a northern species of moist woods. Two of the collections are from trunks of old sugar maples, perhaps hinting at a preference for old growth habitats. DISCUSSION. – Although this distinctive species was first collected in Nova Scotia in 1999, its occurrence in New York (Harris 2006) and a large collection from Vermont suggested that the time had come to provide a name. Bacidia kekesiana is distinctive in that the exciple is densely filled with minute crystals. Ekman (1996) treats three species with minute excipular crystals, Bacidia absistens (Nyl.) Arnold, B. aggregatula Malme and Bacidina crystallifera S. Ekman. The first two differ in longer ascospores and filiform conidia. The third in pinkish apothecia and longer ascospores. In most characters, especially aspect and ascospores, B. kekesiana is very similar to B. circumspecta (Vain.) Malme differing in the exciple filled with crystals. The conidia match the type 1 noted for B. circumspecta by Ekman (1996) but are shorter (4.5–5.5 µm vs. 7– 12 µm). ADDITIONAL SPECIMENS EXAMINED. – CANADA. NOVA SCOTIA. QUEENS CO.: Kejimkukik National Park, along E shore of Kejimkujik Lake near inlet from Grafton Lake, 44°23’N, 65°12’W, mixed hardwood-conifer forest, on old Acer saccharum, 9.v.1999, R.C. Harris 43111 (NY). U.S.A. NEW YORK. ALBANY CO.: Town of Knox, Limestone Rise Preserve along NY 146 ca. 5 mi W of Altamont, S of hwy, 42°42’03”N, 74°08’25”W, ca. 400 m, on old Acer saccharum, 24.ix.2005, R.C. Harris 51826 (NY). 2. Cladonia acuminans R.C. Harris sp. nov. MYCOBANK #513034. Cladonia acuminata sed acidum psoromicum et atranorinum continens. TYPE: U.S.A. NEW YORK. DUTCHESS CO.: Dover Plains, Roger Perry Memorial Preserve, S of Sand Hill Road, SE of jct with Lime Kiln Road, 41°43’52”N, 73°33’45”W, white calcareous sand and calcareous sandstone, on shaded, grassy slope, 4.xi.2008, R.C. Harris 54800 (NY, holotype; isotypes distributed as Lendemer, Lichens of Eastern North America exs. no. 342). DESCRIPTION. – As in Cladonia acuminata (Ach.) Norrlin. (full descriptions in Ahti (2000, p. 236) and Thomson (1984, p. 151, 152(fig.) as C. norrlinii Vainio) but containing psoromic acid and atranorin instead of norstictic acid and atranorin. CHEMISTRY. – Atranorin, psoromic acid. Spot tests: K+ yellow, C–, KC–, P+ yellow, UV–. 1501 DISCUSSION. – One of the unintended consequences of increased knowledge of lichens (and other groups) is that the Linnaean nomenclatural system created as a shorthand designation for lengthy polynomials, cannot explicitly present additional information such as chemotype. This has led to the resurrection of polynomials such as “Cladonia acuminata (Ach.) Norrlin psoromic acid chemotype”. Cladonia acuminata (Ach.) Norrlin and var. norrlinii (Vain.) Lynge have been shown to contain atranorin and norstictic acid agg. (Huovinen et al, 1989). The psoromic acid chemotype has been incorrectly treated as C. norrlinii or C. acuminata var. norrlinii. Since no other shorthand name for the psoromic acid chemotype is available, one is provided here. (It is presumed to be a chemotype but no molecular data has been published to support this view.) Also, there is apparently some geographical separation as the psoromic acid chemotype does not seem to be reported from Europe, i.e., the norstictic acid chemotype is the only chemotype known from Norway (Krog et al. 1994), however Dahl and Krog (1973) incorrectly report both chemotypes (Tønsberg pers. comm.). Interestingly C. acuminata s. str. was also present at the type locality of C. acuminans. Of three collections at this site two contained psoromic acid, one norstictic acid. There were many colonies so it would be interesting to make a study of the comparative frequency of the two. 3. Leimonis R.C. Harris gen. nov. MYCOBANK #509017. Genus Pilocarpacearum Lecideae erraticae characteribus: praecipue excipulum prosoplectenchymatum, ascosporae simplicia parvulae, pycnidiorum paries constatae ex cellulis globosis atrovirentibus, conidia oblonga non angustata, 4–6 x 1.5–2 μm, et lichenum substantia destituta. TYPE: Leimonis erratica (Körber) R. C. Harris & Lendemer comb. nov. Mycobank #509018. Lecidea erratica Körber, Parerga lich. 223. 1861. Micarea erratica (Körber) Hertel, Rambold & Pietschmann, Bibliotheca lich. 34: 227. 1989. Type not designated (see Rambold, 1989). DESCRIPTION. – Thallus on noncalcareous rock or rarely on old wood, pale to dark gray, epilithic, ± continuous, rimose–areolate to dispersed areolate, in harsh conditions reduced to a few tiny areoles and apothecia on a black, dendritic prothallus; photobiont “chlorococcoid”; no lichen substances detected. Apothecia often numerous, black, sessile, constricted at base, often flat with weakly raised, concolorous margin, sometimes becoming swollen with margin excluded, 0.2–0.3(–0.5) mm in diam. Exciple green outside, pale within, prosoplectenchymatous, of radiating, branched an interconnected hyphae . Hypothecium brown with brown pigment slightly radiating into exciple. Epihymenium green, K–, N+ red. Hymenium basically colorless, occasionally with granules of excipular or epihymenial pigments. Paraphyses basally branching, not or little expanded at tips. Asci of Pilocarpaceae type. Ascospores colorless, simple, narrowly ellipsoid, small, 6–9 x 2.5–3.5 µm. Pycnidia black, immersed, ca. 0.1 mm in diam., with green wall composed of ± globose cells. Conidia colorless, oblong, 4–6 x 1.5–2 µm. Additional descriptions by Coppins in Purvis et al (1992) and Rambold (1989). CHEMISTRY. – No substances detected. Spot tests: K–, C–, KC–, P–, UV–. ETYMOLOGY. – Leimonis from Leimon = field, in reference to the common occurrence of L. erratica in open areas, especially old fields often in early stages of succession. DISTRIBUTION AND ECOLOGY. – In eastern North America Leimonis erratica is a species of exposed habitats occurring on non-calcareous rock, from tiny pebbles to substantial glacial erratics. It can often be found in old fields, on road banks, etc., apparently a pioneer species. NY holds material from virtually every state east of the Prairies from Nova Scotia and Ontario to Alabama and Georgia.