Herpothallon capilliferum P.F. Chen & L.L. Zhang, 2022

Chen, Pengfei, Liu, Linlin, Xie, Congmiao & Zhang, Lulu, 2022, Four new species of Herpothallon (Arthoniaceae, Arthoniales, Arthoniomycetes, Ascomycota) from China, Phytotaxa 536 (1), pp. 83-91 : 84

Herpothallon capilliferum P.F. Chen & L.L. Zhang , sp. nov. ( Figure 1 )

Mycobank number: 839108

Type: — CHINA. Zhejiang: Lishui City, Jingning County, Dayang Lake Nature Reserve . 1405.34 m elev., 27°52′11.43″ N, 119°43′51′′ E, on bark of Nyssa sinensis Oliv. , 3 December 2020, C. G . Zhao & L. L . Zhang 20200807 (Holotype in SDNU) .

Description:— Thallus corticolous, up to 4 cm in diam., loosely appressed to the substrate, sometimes flaking off, minutely felty, dull, pale mineral grey to olivaceous green; in section up to 100 µm thick, with abundant calcium oxalate crystals throughout the thallus. Hypothallus whitish, byssoid, composed of 1–2 µm wide hyphae. Prothallus up to 1 mm broad, byssoid, composed of interwoven and radiating hyphae, whitish. Pseudisidia numerous, irregular, globose, unbranched, byssoid, with abundantly projecting hyphae, mostly white but sometimes green in parts, up to 0.4 × 0.2 mm. Photobiont Trentepohlia , single to aggregated, cells globose, 7–10 × 5–7 µm, yellowish green. Asci and pycnidia not seen.

Chemistry and spot tests:— Thallus and prothallus K+ yellow and then red, C–, P+ yellow, I–. TLC: norstictic acid.

Etymology:— The epithet “ capilliferum ” refers to the hair-like appearance of pseudisidia.

Ecology and distribution: —The new species was found growing on Nyssa sinensis Oliv. , in Dayang Lake Nature Reserve of Zhejiang Province.

Specimen examined:— CHINA. Zhejiang: Lishui City, Jingning County, Dayang Lake Nature Reserve . 1405.34 m elev., on bark of Nyssa sinensis Oliv. , 3 December 2020, C. G . Zhao & L. L . Zhang 20200808, 20200809 ( SDNU) .

Note:— This species is characterized by pseudisidia with many projecting hyphae and the presence of norstictic acid as a major secondary metabolite. Herpothallon coralloides Jagadeesh (2014: 40) is also pseudoisidiate and contains norstictic acid, but it has a pale green to whitish grey thallus that also contains confluentic acid and much larger pseudisidia (up to 1.0 × 0.1mm) that are felty, but without projecting hyphae ( Jagadeesh 2014). The morphologically most similar species is Crypthonia albida (Fée) Frisch & G. Thor (2010: 290) but C. albida contains psoromic acid and pseudisidia that are larger (up to 1.0 × 0.5 mm). Another morphologically similar species is H. minimum Aptroot & Lücking (2009: 53) , it is the only known Herpothallon species that produces 2’-O-methylperlatolic acid ( Aptroot et al. 2009).

Figures

FIGURE 1. The new species Herpothallon capilliferum (holotype, SDNU 20200807).