[Botany • 2023] Vaccinium usneoides (Ericaceae) • A New Species from Yunnan, China

Vaccinium usneoides Y.H.Tong, Y.J.Guo & Ting Zhang,

in Guo, Zhang, Ya, Zhang, Shen, Han, Ni, Su et Tong, 2023. 

松萝越橘  ||  DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.236.112658

Abstract

Vaccinium usneoides (Ericaceae), a new species from Fugong County of Yunnan Province, China is described and illustrated. This new species belongs to Vaccinium sect. Calcicolus and is most similar to V. brachyandrum, but differs in its branches hanging down, much smaller leaf blades, shorter inflorescences and pedicels, non-glandular tomentellate or densely pubescent inflorescence rachis and pedicels, densely white-pubescent hypanthium and pilose filaments.

Key words: Gaoligong Mountain, morphology, Vaccinieae, Vaccinium arbutoides

Vaccinium usneoides sp. nov.
 A flowering branchlet B trichomes on abaxial surface of leaf blades C fruiting branchlet D flower E flower with corolla and calyx limb removed, showing androecium and gynoecium F stamens, adaxial (left), abaxial (middle) and lateral (right) view G seeds.

Illustrated by Ding-Han Cui.

Vaccinium usneoides sp. nov.
A habitat, the red ovals indicating this species B habit C leafy branches, the arrow showing the indumentum on young branchlets and leaf blades D flowering branchlets with young inflorescences E flowering branchlet F fruiting branchlet.

A, B taken by Yi-Hua Tong C, F taken by Yong-jie Guo D taken by Ji-Dong Ya E taken by Ting Zhang.

 Vaccinium usneoides Y.H.Tong, Y.J.Guo & Ting Zhang, sp. nov.

Diagnosis: This new species is close to V. brachyandrum in the short and hairy inflorescences (less than 3.5 cm) with many flowers and the abaxially glandular leaf blades with one basal gland per side and a caudate-acuminate apex, but can be immediately distinguished by its hanging-down (vs. scrambling) branches, much smaller leaf blades (2.5–5.5 × 0.9–1.8 cm vs. 8.5–11 × 4–6 cm) with fewer pairs of secondary veins (3–4 vs. 6–7), shorter inflorescence (1–1.5 cm vs. 1.5–3.5 cm), non-glandular tomentellate or densely pubescent (vs. glandular pubescent) inflorescence rachis and pedicel, shorter pedicel (0.7–1 mm vs. ca. 2 mm), densely white-pubescent (vs. glabrous) hypanthium and pilose (vs. glabrous) filament. A detailed morphological comparison between the two species is presented in Table 1.

Etymology: The species epithet is derived from the genus of beard lichen “Usnea” and the suffix “-oides”, which means the habit of this new species looks very much like beard lichen on trees from a distance. Chinese name is given as 松萝越橘 (Pinyin: sōng luó yuè jú).

 Yong-Jie Guo, Ting Zhang, Ji-Dong Ya, Wei Zhang, Xiu-Ying Shen, Zhou-Dong Han, Jing-Bo Ni, Jian-Yong Su and Yi-Hua Tong. 2023. Vaccinium usneoides (Ericaceae), A New Species from Yunnan, China. PhytoKeys. 236: 187-195. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.236.112658

[Fungi • 2020] Cora timucua (Hygrophoraceae) • A New and Potentially Extinct, previously Misidentified Basidiolichen of Florida Inland Scrub Documented from Historical Collections

Cora timucua  

in Lücking, Kaminsky, Perlmutter, et al., 2020. 

DOI: 10.1639/0007-2745-123.4.657

  FloridaMuseum.ufl.edu 

Abstract

The known collections of the genus Cora in continental North America north of Mexico, all restricted to Florida, are shown to belong to a single species, representing a previously unrecognized taxon formally described herein as Cora timucua. Based on data of the fungal ITS barcoding marker, obtained through Sanger and Illumina sequencing from two historical collections, the new species is phylogenetically most closely related to C. casanarensis from Colombia and C. itabaiana from Brazil, although it is morphologically most similar to the only distantly related C. hymenocarpa from Costa Rica. Based on data from the Consortium of North American Lichen Herbaria (CNALH) and from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), most of the collections of C. timucua originate from around the turn of the 19th century, while a few were made in the second half of the 20th century, all between 1968 and 1985. Almost all collections originate from Florida sand pine scrub, apparently the preferred habitat of this taxon. Neither modern collections nor extant localities are known. Based on these findings and the substantial degree of land use change in Florida in the past decades, we assessed the conservation status of C. timucua using the IUCN Red List criteria and found that it should be classified as critically endangered (CR), in line with the status of another Florida endemic, Cladonia perforata, which was the first federally red-listed lichen in the United States. The most likely location where C. timucua may still be extant is Ocala National Forest in the north-central portion of the Florida peninsula, although recent macrolichen surveys in that area did not encounter this species.

Cora timucua 

 

Robert Lücking, Laurel Kaminsky, Gary B. Perlmutter, James D. Lawrey and Manuela Dal Forno. 2020. Cora timucua (Hygrophoraceae), A New and Potentially Extinct, previously Misidentified Basidiolichen of Florida Inland Scrub Documented from Historical Collections. The Bryologist 123(4); 657-673. DOI: 10.1639/0007-2745-123.4.657

Rare lichen unique to Florida discovered in museum collections, may be extinct

 FloridaMuseum.ufl.edu/science/rare-lichen-unique-to-florida-may-be-extinct

[Fungi • 2020] Porpidinia brevispora• A New Species and the Second Representative of the Genus Porpidinia (Lecideaceae, Lecanorales) from the Russian Far East

Porpidinia brevispora  Yakovchenko & Davydov

in Yakovchenko, Davydov, Paukov & Ohmura, 2020. 

DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.459.1.8 

 Researchgate.net/publication/344172186 

Abstract

Porpidinia brevispora sp. nov. from Shikhote-Alin Range, Primorye Territory, Russian Far East is described and illustrated. The new species resembles Porpidinia tumidula morphologically, but is distinct in its spherical to ellipsoid, significantly smaller ascospores that do not overlap in size with those of P. tumidula, as well as a lower hymenium with paraphyses embedded into hyaline gelatinous envelopes, up to 5 µm wide. Porpidinia brevispora inhabits carbonate rocks at low elevations.

Keywords: new taxa, East Asia, Porpidinia tumidula, calciphilous lichen, Shikhote-Alin Range, squamulose growth form, Lichens

Porpidinia brevispora (holotype):
 (A) holotype specimen (LE-L15308); (B) section of thallus; (C) section of apothecium; (D) asci and paraphyses with caps and thick gelatinose envelopes, in lactophenol cotton blue; (E) ascospores.

 Bars: A=2 mm; B&C=50 µm; D=20 µm; E=10 µm.

Porpidinia brevispora Yakovchenko & Davydov, sp. nov.

Etymology: The name refers to the small size of ascospores, an essential character distinguishing this species from its closest relative, Porpidinia tumidula.

  Lidia Yakovchenko, Evgeny A. Davydov, Alexander Paukov and Yoshihito Ohmura. 2020. Porpidinia brevispora, A New Species and the Second Representative of the Genus Porpidinia (Lecideaceae, Lecanorales) from the Russian Far East.   Phytotaxa. 459(1); 75–80. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.459.1.8

  Researchgate.net/publication/344172186_Porpidinia_brevispora_a_new_species_of_Porpidinia_from_the_Russian_Far_East

[Entomology • 2020] Carrikerella simpira • A New Species of Praying Mantis from Peru Reveals Impaling as a Novel Hunting Strategy in Mantodea (Thespidae: Thespini)

Carrikerella simpira

Rivera & Callohuari, 2020

  DOI: 10.1007/s13744-019-00744-y

Abstract

A new species of lichen-mimicking praying mantis, Carrikerella simpira n. sp., is described from Tingo María region in Peru. The new species differs from its congeners in having reduced tergal lobes, a relatively sinuous pronotum, and it is found in the highland tropical rainforest of the Central Andes. Behavioral observations conducted on captive individuals revealed that juveniles and adults hunt by impaling prey using modified foretibial structures. Anatomical examinations of the incumbent trophic structures revealed functional adaptations for prey impaling in the foretibiae, primarily consisting of prominent, forwardly oriented, barbed spines. We provide an overall description of this novel hunting behavior in Mantodea and hypothesize on its evolutionary origin and adaptive significance for the Thespidae.

Keywords: Heterochrony, mimicry, behavior, 3D printing, Carrikerella

Carrikerella simpira, adult female specimen feeding on Trupanea sp. (Tephritidae, approx. 5.5 mm)

Carrikerella simpira Rivera & Callohuari sp. nov. 

Etymology: The specific epithet refers to the “simpira,” a horned, mythological amazonian entity. According to local shipibo-conibo cosmovision, the simpira can stretch one of its arms to snare its victims, a behavior that evokes that of Carrikerella.

J. Rivera and Y. Callohuari. 2020. A New Species of Praying Mantis from Peru Reveals Impaling as a Novel Hunting Strategy in Mantodea (Thespidae: Thespini). Neotropical Entomology. DOI: 10.1007/s13744-019-00744-y

New Species of Praying Mantis Impales Its Prey on Barbed Spikes gizmodo.com/new-species-of-praying-mantis-impales-its-prey-on-barbe-1840866483  via @gizmodo

twitter.com/Gizmodo/status/1215051182944739328

[Fungi • 2019] Allographa kamojangensis & A. jayatilakana • Discoveries Through Social Media and In Your Own Backyard: Two New Species of Allographa (Graphidaceae) with pigmented lirellae from the Palaeotropics, with A World Key to Species of this Group

Allographa kamojangensis Jatnika, Noer & Lücking

in Jatnika, Weerakoon, Arachchige, et al., 2019. 

DOI: 10.1017/S0024282919000094 

twitter.com/NHM_Botany 

Abstract

The genus Graphis sensu Staiger was recently divided into two genera, Graphis s. str. and Allographa. The latter contains mostly species with robust lirellae with a well-developed, often massively carbonized excipulum. With one exception, it also contains all species with a pigmented, yellow to orange pruina on the lirellae. Until now, seven species of Allographa were known with this character, all present in the Neotropics and one also in Africa. Here we describe two further species, both from tropical Asia, thus extending the known distribution of Allographa species with pigmented lirellae to the entire tropics. Allographa kamojangensis Jatnika, Noer & Lücking sp. nov. from Indonesia (Java) was recognized as a new taxon on the social media Facebook site Lichens Connecting People. Detailed studies showed that it deviates from the neotropical A. firferi in the much larger ascospores and the orange, K+ immediately purple-violet pigment, and from A. lutea in the completely carbonized excipulum and the larger ascospores. Allographa jayatilakana Weerakoon, Arachchige & Lücking sp. nov. was discovered in the second author's backyard during a recent inventory of Graphidaceae in Sri Lanka. It differs from A. flavominiata in the much shorter ascospores, from A. firferi in the terminally muriform ascospores, and from A. ochracea in the yellow-orange, K+ yellow then slowly purple-violet pruina. A key is presented to all nine species of Allographa with pigmented lirellae.

Keywords: Allographa chrysocarpa, anthraquinone pigments, Colombo, Kamojang, lichens, taxonomy

Allographa kamojangensis (holotype), thallus in situ. 

Muhammad Feisal Jatnika, Gothamie Weerakoon, Omal Arachchige, Iin Supartinah Noer, Anna Voytsekhovich and Robert Lücking. 2019.  Discoveries Through Social Media and In Your Own Backyard: Two New Species of Allographa (Graphidaceae) with pigmented lirellae from the Palaeotropics, with A World Key to Species of this Group. The Lichenologist.  51(3); 227-233. DOI: 10.1017/S0024282919000094 

 twitter.com/NHM_Botany/status/1143140184508289024

Lücking R. and Kalb K. 2018. Formal Instatement of Allographa (Graphidaceae): How to Deal with a Hyperdiverse Genus Complex with Cryptic Differentiation and Paucity of Molecular Data. Herzogia. 31(p1); 535-561. DOI:  10.13158/heia.31.1.2018.535

[Fungi • 2019] The Lichen Family Teloschistaceae in the Altai-Sayan Region (Central Asia)

Rusavskia sp. 1 (Vondrák 18102) with Xanthoria-like flat lobes.

in Vondrák, Frolov, Davydov, et al., 2019.

  DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.396.1

(bar = 1 mm.) 

Abstract

Within the Altai-Sayan region, we identified 103 species of Teloschistaceae from 1193 field records supported by herbarium vouchers. The recorded species belong to the subfamilies Xanthorioideae (46 species in 14 genera) and Caloplacoideae (57 species in 17 genera); Teloschistoideae is absent. We divided the 194 surveyed localities into four categories: arid alpine, arid non-alpine, humid alpine, humid non-alpine. Each category has a specific lichen composition and a typical combination of traits. Humid non-alpine localities are mostly inhabited by broadly distributed boreal-montane species; humid alpine sites by arctic-alpine lichens; arid non-alpine habitats are preferred by xerophilous Eurasian species and arid alpine sites by xerophilous Central Asian species with (presumably) large geographic ranges in dry continental Asia. Some arid alpine species have a thick crustose thallus with a very thick medulla and cortex; this morphological trait is confined to the Central Asian group of lichens and is absent from other climatic regions, such as arctic, boreal or oceanic Eurasia. We compared species diversity in the Altai-Sayan region with the Alps. Both regions differ in species and generic composition and the richness is higher in the latter.

Taxonomy: Caloplaca fluviatilis is newly described. New combinations are Pachypeltis insularis, P. pachythallina, P. phoenicopta and Variospora sororicida. Two of Magnusson’s names are newly synonymized: Caloplaca infestans with Pachypeltis intrudens and Caloplaca kansuensis with C. bicolor. In addition to 22 known genera, we define, provisionally, 9 groups of species that may merit recognition as genera. Caloplaca epithallina is provisionally placed in Shackletonia, but we do not formally publish a new combination. Lichenicolous Pachypeltis phoenicopta and Variospora sororicida are less host-specific than originally thought.

Floristics: Caloplaca pratensis is new to Eurasia, Caloplaca helygeoides (= C. diphyodes auct.), C. monacensis and C. soralifera are new to Asia. 12 species are new to Russia, 9 new to Siberia, 9 new to China, 2 new to Kazakhstan, and 2 new to Xinjiang. Outside the studied region Pachypeltis phoenicopta is new to Europe (Spain, Sierra Nevada) and we report the first reliable record of Pachypeltis insularis from Greece (Mt Olympus).

Rusavskia sp. 1 (Vondrák 18102) with Xanthoria-like flat lobes.

(bar = 1 mm.)

 Jan Vondrák, Ivan Frolov, Evgeny A. Davydov, Lidia Yakovchenko, Jiří Malíček , Stanislav Svoboda and Jiří Kubásek. 2019. The Lichen Family Teloschistaceae in the Altai-Sayan Region (Central Asia). Phytotaxa. 396(1); 1–66. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.396.1

[Fungi • 2019] Enterographa assamica (Roccellaceae sensu lato) • A New Species from North-East India

Enterographa assamica  Pooja Gupta, S. Joseph & G.P. Sinha

in Gupta, Joseph & Sinha, 2019. 

 DOI: 10.6165/tai.2019.64.1  

  facebook.com/TaiwaniaOffice  

ABSTRACT

 A new species Enterographa assamica, in the family Roccellaceae sensu lato is described from Assam, India. It is characterized by whitish grey thallus, rounded to elongate ascomata with yellowish-white thalline margin and presence of lichexanthone and confluentic acid in the thallus. A key to all the known species of Enterographa in India is also provided.

 KEY WORDS: Arthoniales; Assam; India; Enterographa assamica; Lichenized Ascomycota; Roccellaceae s. l.; Taxonomy. 

Fig. 1. Enterographa assamica.
A. Thallus with ascomata; B & C. Asci with ascospores.

 Scale: A. 1 mm; B & C. 10 µm.

Enterographa assamica Pooja Gupta, S. Joseph & G.P. Sinha sp. nov. 

 Diagnosis: Thallus corticolous, epiperidermal; ascomata rounded to elongate; 0.25–0.55 mm diam., if rounded; 0.5–1(–1.2) × 0.2–0.5 mm, if lirelliform; asci clavate, 8˗spored, 60–80 × 15–19 μm; ascospores hyaline, acicular, transversely 7–11˗septate, slightly curved at the end, (39–)48–55(–60) × 2–3 μm; confluentic acid and lichexanthone present.  

Etymology: The specific epithet refers to the Indian state, Assam, where it was discovered.  

Pooja Gupta, Siljo Joseph and Gopal Prasad Sinha. 2019. Enterographa assamica, A New Species from North-East India. Taiwania. 64(1); 1-3. DOI: 10.6165/tai.2019.64.1   

 facebook.com/TaiwaniaOffice/photos/2199487920273025

[Fungi • 2018] High Diversity, High Insular Endemism and Recent Origin in the Lichen Genus Sticta (lichenized Ascomycota, Peltigerales) in Madagascar and the Mascarenes

in Simon, Goffinet, Magain & Sérusiaux, 2018. 

   DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.01.012 

Highlights

•  A lineage of Sticta restricted to the Indian Ocean underwent a rapid radiation.

•  The adaptive radiation gave rise to 31 species, most with small-range endemism.

•  The dramatic diversification followed a single colonization event (c. 11 Mya).

Abstract

Lichen biodiversity and its generative evolutionary processes are practically unknown in the MIOI (Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands) biodiversity hotspot. We sought to test the hypothesis that lichenized fungi in this region have undergone a rapid radiation, following a single colonization event, giving rise to narrow endemics, as is characteristic of other lineages of plants. We extensively sampled specimens of the lichen genus Sticta in the Mascarene archipelago (mainly Réunion) and in Madagascar, mainly in the northern range (Amber Mt and Marojejy Mt) and produced the fungal ITS barcode sequence for 148 thalli. We further produced a four-loci data matrix for 68 of them, representing the diversity and geographical distribution of ITS haplotypes. We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships within this group, established species boundaries with morphological context, and estimated the date of the most recent common ancestor. Our inferences resolve a robust clade comprising 31 endemic species of Sticta that arose from the diversification following a single recent (c. 11 Mya) colonization event. All but three species have a very restricted range, endemic to either the Mascarene archipelago or a single massif in Madagascar. The first genus of lichens to be studied with molecular data in this region underwent a recent radiation, exhibits micro-endemism, and thus exemplifies the biodiversity characteristics found in other taxa in Madagascar and the Mascarenes.

Keywords: Biogeography; Indian Ocean; Lobariaceae; Photomorph; Radiation

Fig. 1. Representatives of MIOI Sticta species. 
(B) Sticta sp. 20. (C) Sticta sp. 23. (D) S. macrophylla. (E) Sticta sp. 22.

Photographs taken in the field by E. Sérusiaux (A–D) and B. Goffinet (E).

Conclusions

The present study demonstrates the existence of a well-supported monophyletic lineage within the genus Sticta, which is endemic to three islands of the Western Indian Ocean: Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion (MIOI hotspot). This clade comprises an assemblage of mostly narrow endemic species six times more diverse than previously recognized, highlighting the extent of the undiscovered diversity within lichen-forming fungi in this region, especially in the genus Sticta. Our results strongly support a local species-rich radiation starting in the Late Miocene, that is concomitant with the emergence of the Mascarene archipelago. Thus, the following biogeographic scenario can be tentatively suggested for the MIOI Sticta species: their most recent common ancestor reached either Madagascar or the Mascarenes, via a single long dispersal event, most likely from an area in the Southern Hemisphere; thereafter migrations between the three islands shaped the observed evolutionary patterns and local speciation, including within each Madagascan montane area, giving rise to a rich complex of small-range endemic species.

Antoine Simon, Bernard Goffinet, Nicolas Magain and Emmanuël Sérusiaux. 2018. High Diversity, High Insular Endemism and Recent Origin in the Lichen Genus Sticta (lichenized Ascomycota, Peltigerales) in Madagascar and the Mascarenes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.  122; 15–28.  DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.01.012