Phaeographis galeanoae Lücking, Moncada

Lücking, Robert, Moncada, Bibiana, Habibe, María Cristina Martínez-, Salgado- Negret, Beatriz E., Celis, Marcela, Zamora, Oscar Rojas-, Rodríguez- M., Gina M., Brokamp, Grischa & Borsch, Thomas, 2019, Lichen diversity in colombian caribbean dry forest remnants, Caldasia 41 (1), pp. 94-214 : 208-209

Phaeographis galeanoae Lücking, Moncada & B. Salgado-N. sp. nov.

Mycobank MB 828117

( Fig. 3d ).

Diagnosis. Differing from Phaeographis bicolor in the very long, narrow, dendroid lirellae and the smaller ascospores.

Type. COLOMBIA. Atlántico: Piojó, Reserva Forestal Protectora ( RFP) El Palomar; 10º45’47” N, 75º08’56” W, 200–600 m; 18 March 2016, R. Lücking, B. Moncada et al. 42981 ( UNO, holotype; B, isotype) .

Description. Thallus corticolous, epiperidermal, up to 5 cm diam., continuous, light olive-green, unevenrugose, opaque; prothallus not observed. Thallus in section 80–150 µm thick, with prosoplectenchymatous cortex and irregular photobiont layer, strongly encrusted with clusters of calcium oxalate crystals. Ascomata lirellate, radiately branched (dendroid), erumpent, 5–20 mm long, 0.2–0.3 mm broad, 0.1–0.12 mm high; disc exposed but narrow, dark brown; labia inconspicuous, visible as thin, somewhat irregular, greyish-brown line between the disc and the thalline margin; thalline margin basal to lateral, white. Excipulum prosoplectenchymatous, 20–30 µm broad, dark brown to carbonized; hypothecium 15–30 µm high, hyaline. Hymenium 70–80 µm high, strongly inspersed, inspersion partially dissolving in K; paraphyses unbranched, apically smooth. Asci 70–80 × 15–20 µm, oblong. Ascospores 8 per ascus, 7–9(–11)-septate, 25–35 × 6–8(–10) µm, oblong, with thickened septa and lensshaped lumina, grey-brown, I+ vine-red. Secondary chemistry: stictic acid, thallus in section with K+ persistently yellow efflux.

Etymology. We dedicate this beautiful new species to the memory of the late Gloria Amparo Galeano Garcés (1958–2016), one of the foremost Colombian botanists and agronomists and internationally renowned specialist in the taxonomy of Arecaceae (palms), an important element in tropical forests including DTF ( García 2016, Olivares and Balslev 2016). One of her last published papers was on the use of the bitter palm, Sabal mauritiiformis , for roofing in Piojó, Atlántico ( Andrade-Erazo and Galeano 2016), the municipality of the type locality of Phaeographis galeanoae .

Remarks. The genus Phaeographis is currently not well-studied, but we were able to examine most of the type material of names belonging here. We found only three species with transversely septate ascospores, inspersed hymenium, dark brown to carbonized excipulum, and stictic acid chemistry. Among these, the eastern paleotropical P. circumscripta (Kremp.) Vain. [syn.: Graphis pasaniae Vain. nom. inval.] differs in the distinct, apically strongly carbonized labia, fitting the concept of Platygramme ( Staiger 2002) and the smaller (15–25 × 5–6 µm), consistently 5-septate ascospores. Phaeographis bicolor Müll. Arg. , also an eastern paleotropical species, forms much shorter and broader, irregularly branched lirellae, and the ascospores are larger (35–45 × 9–11 µm). Finally, a third species also known from the eastern Paleotropics, P. concava Müll. Arg. , differs in the consistently 5-septate ascospores and the shorter, irregularly branched lirellae with sunken disc and prominent margins covered by a thallus layer. The new species is quite conspicuous due to the dendroid lirellae and strong color contrast between the olivegreen thallus and the dark brown disc and white margin of the lirellae.

Additional specimens examined. COLOMBIA. Atlántico: Piojó, Reserva

Forestal Protectora ( RFP) El Palomar; 10º45’47” N, 75º08’56” W, 200–600 m; 18 March 2016, R. Lücking , B . Moncada et al. 42982 ( UNO, paratype), 42983 ( B, UNO, paratypes). Usiacurí, Distrito Regional de Manejo Integrado ( DMI) Luriza; 10º44’22” N, 75º01’24” W, 100–200 m; tropical dry forest, closed forest and disturbed forest patches and secondary vegetation along main access trail; 1 December 2015; R . Lücking , B . Moncada et al. 42936 ( B, UNO, paratypes) .

Figures

Figure 3. Species of lichens new to science. a. Fissurina linoana (42977b, holotype); b. Graphis lurizana (42922, holotype); c. Graphis mokanarum (42930, holotype); d. Phaeographis galeanoae (42981, holotype). Thalli with ascomata. Scale = 1 mm.