Licea nannengae Pando & Lado, Mycotaxon

Basanta, Diana Wrigley De, Mier, Carlos De & Lado, Carlos, 2023, A taxonomic revision of the species of Licea subg. Licea (Myxomycetes), Phytotaxa 629 (2), pp. 95-128 : 113-114

17. Licea nannengae Pando & Lado, Mycotaxon 31(2): 299 (1988) Figs. 14A–I

Sporophores sporocarpic, scattered to gregarious, sessile. Sporocarps subglosose, 0.05–0.2 mm diam., ridged, dark brown to yellow ochraceous. Peridium double, outer layer gelatinous, covered with refuse material, inner translucent and iridescent very thin, pale olive, smooth; dehiscence along ridges into platelets and lobes leaving a shiny base. Spores free, dark brown in mass, olivaceous brown by TL ( Fig. 14 F ), with a pale area, wall thick with thinner area, globose, 9.5–13.5 µm diam., smooth. By SEM the inner peridium surface is densely warted, with some warts joined in a loose reticulum, right up to the platelet margins ( Figs. 14 G – H ), with no prominent outgrowths; the epispore is smooth with a thinner area appearing wrinkled ( Fig. 14 I ).

Material examined: Holotypus. SPAIN . Soria, Cubillos, 30TWM0421, 1080 m, corteza de Juniperus thurifera cultivado en cámara húmeda, 26-III-1986, 246 Pando (MA-Fungi 16056)! .

Habitat: bark of living trees.

Distribution: Norway (?), Lithuania, Russian Federation, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Cuba, Argentina.

Icon.: Pando & Lado (1988: 300, Fig. 1 ) , Lado & Pando (1997: 122, Figs. 32a–b) , Johannesen & Vetlesen (2020: 77, Figs. 39 A – C as Licea cf. nannengae ) , Nannenga-Bremekamp (2022: 533, Fig. 17 ) .

Notes. This species was described as having a smooth inner surface of the inner peridium by TL. However, by SEM, which was not available at the time of the description, the inner peridium looks densely warted ( Fig. 14 H ). In the collection of the holotype, that is marked with arrows (14 A), we have found sporocarps of a different species mixed in with L. nannengae Pando & Lado , with an almost smooth peridium and spiny spores. This may have lead to misidentification, such as reports from Colorado ( Novozhilov et al. 2003) and Madagascar (Wrigley de Basanta et al. 2013) with a SEM image showing ornamented spores, and could affect distribution data. Licea nannengae resembles L. belmontiana Nann. -Bremek., however that species has darker brown sporocarps, not yellowish brown (compare Fig. 4 C with Fig. 14 B taken with the same optical instruments). The spores of L. belmontiana are lighter brown and not olivaceous and the inner peridial markings, as seen by SEM, are different in each species. In addition, the spores of L. belmontiana are ornamented, as seen by SEM, whereas those of L. nannengae are entirely smooth. L. denudescens H.W. Keller & T.E. Brooks differs from L. nannengae by darker, larger sporocarps (0.2–0.4 mm diam. vs. 0.05–0.2 mm diam.), sporocarps lacking ridges, and by darker spores.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Licea alpina. A–F (AH 28531, Holotype).A. Herbarium boxes and slides. B–D. Stalked and subsessile sporocarps. E. Spores and peridial platelets by TL. F. Spores by TL. Scale bars: B–D = 0.1 mm, E–F = 10 µm.

FIGURE 4. Licea belmontiana. A–J (NENB-5879, BR-MYC 5020057898868, Holotype). A. Herbarium box. B–C. Sessile sporocarps. D. Peridial platelets by TL. E. Spores by TL. F. Dehisced sporocarp by SEM. G–H. Peridial platelets by SEM showing margins without outgrowths (arrows). I–J. Warted spores by SEM. Scale bars: B–C = 0.1 mm, D–G = 10 µm, H–J = 5 µm.

FIGURE 14. Licea nannengae. A–I (246 Pando, MA-Fungi 16056, Holotype). A. Herbarium box with holotype indicated with arrow. B–C. Sessile sporocarps. D–E. Peridial platelets by TL. F. spore by TL. G. Dehisced sporocarp by SEM. H. Detail of inner peridium surface at platelet edges by SEM. I. Spore by SEM. Scale bars: B–C = 0.1 mm, D–F, H = 10 µm, G = 50 µm, I = 5 µm.

FIGURE 17. Licea pygmaea.A–L (Myxo 055, LAU, Lectotype).A. Herbarium box. B–E. Sessile sporocarps. F–G. Peridial platelets and spore by TL. H. Whole open sporocarp by SEM. I–J. Peridial platelet margins by SEM. K–L. Spores by SEM. Scale bars: B = 0.1 mm, C–E, H = 50 µm, F–G = 10 µm, I–L = 5 µm.