Cladonia merochlorophaea Asahina

Farkas, Edit, Lőkös, László & Veres, Katalin, 2023, Analysis of lichen secondary metabolites and morphometrics in the Cladonia chlorophaea species group (Cladoniaceae, lichenized Ascomycota) in Hungary, Cryptogamie, Mycologie 20 (5), pp. 61-82 : 72

Cladonia merochlorophaea Asahina

( Fig. 14 )

NOTES

The Hungarian specimens contain fumarprotocetraric, cryptochlorophaeic, congrayanic, 4-O-methyl-cryptochlorophaeic, 4-O-demethyl-grayanic, rangiformic and merochlorophaeic acids and they belong to the chemically most diverse species of the group.

The podetia are darker brown or gray, strongly melanotic at base ( Stenroos et al. 2011, 2016; Ahti et al. 2013). Soredia are relatively larger (11-168 µm) than at other species. It is characterised by relatively tall (1.9-17.3 mm) and broad

(0.8-7.5 mm) scyphi with wide (0.3-3.1 mm) stalk. C. merochlorophaea differs from C. asahinae in a number of characters ( CH, CW, PH, PHCW, sor, SW), from C. chlorophaea and C. novochlorophaea in the mean length of squamules on podetia, from C. grayi in size of soredia and width of stalk, from C. novochlorophaea it also differs in stalk width and in the length of squamules. ( Table 1 ).

It is collected more often on acidic, but also on calcareous soil, mossy soil, in coniferous forest, sometimes in oak or mixed forest, between 200 and 760 m a.s.l. in hilly regions in Hungary, in the Soproni-hegység, Őrség, the Vendvidék, the Balaton Uplands, the Bükk and the Zemplén Mts, similarly to C. cryptochlorophaea . Holien & TØnsberg (1985), Kowalewska et al. (2008) and Matwiejuk (2017) reported its frequency from pine forests. Localities of C. merochlorophaea in Hungary are more rich in pine forests than other regions within the country.

Figures

FIG. 14. — Cladonia merochlorophaea Asahina:A, habit (BP[BP 32926]);B, spots of lichen secondary metabolites on chromatographic plates;C, distribution in Hungary. Abbreviations: m, merochlorophaeic acid; R, rangiformic acid; cg, congrayanic acid; F, fumarprotocetraric acid; Z, zeorin; N, norstictic acid. Scale bar: A, 2 mm.