Allographa acharii (Fée) Lücking & Kalb 2018

Kalb, Jutarat, Lücking, Robert & Kalb, Klaus, 2018, The lichen genera Allographa and Graphis (Ascomycota: Ostropales, Graphidaceae) in Thailand-eleven new species, forty-seven new records and a key to all one hundred and fifteen species so far recorded for the country, Phytotaxa 377 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

Allographa acharii (Fée) Lücking & Kalb comb. nov.

Mycobank MB 827648

Basionym:— Graphis acharii Fée, Essai Crypt. Exot. (Paris) : 39 (1825).

Type:— SOUTH AMERICA, ad corticem cinchonarum ( G, lectotype, designated by Wirth & Hale 1978: 31; not seen, L!, isotype, M, isotype, Wirth & Hale 1978).

Thallus corticolous, gray to off-white, dull or slightly glossy. Lirellae prominent, with a ± complete apically thin thalline margin, short or elongate, straight to flexuose, unbranched to sparsely branched, 1–10 mm long, labia convergent, entire to crenate or distinctly striate ( acharii - or rhizicola -morph). Exciple completely carbonized; hymenium clear; ascospores 2–6/ascus, hyaline, sometimes slightly brownish with age, densely muriform, 80–170 × 15–30 μm ( Lücking et al. 2009), 100–170 × 20–30 μm ( Staiger 2002), 95–170 × 18–25 μm ( Wirth & Hale 1978).

Chemistry: no lichen substances by TLC (anal. J. & K. Kalb).

Distribution and habitat:—Pantropical, mainly in Central and South America ( Wirth & Hale 1978, Staiger 2002), rare in Africa, Kenya ( Staiger 2002), Taiwan ( Aptroot & Sparrius 2008 –present) and Thailand, Chiang Mai province ( Aptroot et al. 2007). Growing on bark (very rarely on rock) of various trees in open situations along roadsides, but also in dark and humid rainforests between 200 and 2000 m.

Remarks:— Allographa vestitoides (Fink) Lücking & Kalb (see below) has a similar distribution as A. acharii and is also habitually very similar, but can easily be separated by narrower ascospores (12–16 μm broad) with 1–2 longitudinal septa in the 4–5 terminal segments only.

* Allographa aquilonia (A. W. Archer) Lücking & Kalb , comb. nov. Fig. 2A . Mycobank MB 827649

Basionym: Graphina aquilonia A. W. Archer, Mycotaxon 77: 160 (2001) ≡ Graphis aquilonia (A. W. Archer) Staiger (2002: 209) . Type:— AUSTRALIA. Queensland: McIlwraith Ra., 28 km NE of Coen, H. Streimann 56768 (CANB!).

Thallus corticolous, lead-gray to pale grayish white, smooth, dull. Lirellae prominent to sessile, with a complete whitish thalline margin, becoming black when abraded, short to elongate, straight, curved or sinuose, unbranched or irregularly branched, up to 7 mm long, labia convergent, entire or becoming indistinctly striate when old (illinata - morph), disc not visible from above. Exciple completely carbonized; hymenium clear; ascospores 6–8/ascus, hyaline, becoming slightly brownish with age, only terminally muriform, 14–21 × 0–2-septate, 70–105 × 11–15 μm.

Chemistry: norstictic acid (major), connorstictic acid (minor) (anal. K. Kalb).

Distribution and habitat:—Eastern paleotropical, with certainty reported from India, the Philippines ( Aptroot & Sparrius 2008 –present), Australia, New Caledonia (Archer 2009) and here reported from Thailand for the first time where it is growing on bark of unidentified trees in a ± dry mixed evergreen forest and a tropical rainforest between 450 and 600 m. The initial reports of that species from Costa Rica ( Lücking et al. 2008) were later found incorrect and described as a separate species, G. pseudoaquilonia ( Lücking et al. 2012) .

Remarks:—The species is very rare in Thailand (only two collections are known). It is characterized in having conspicuous whitish lirellae, long, muriform ascospores with 1–2 longitudinal septa only in the last 2–4 end-cells, and norstictic acid with connorstictic acid. The terminal longitudinal septa are easily overlooked and are best seen when KOH is added to the section.

Material from Thailand examined:— Chiang Rai province: Mae Chan district, tambon Pa Tueng, surroundings of Mae Tad Tong Waterfall , in a tropicla rainforest, on bark of an unidentified deciduous tree, 450 m, 20°07’13’’ N, 99°49’20’’ E, 7 December 2016, J. & K. Kalb (hb. K. & J. Kalb 42024); dto., surroundings of Huai Kang Pla Waterfall, in a ± dry mixed evergreen broad-leaved forest mixed with Pinus kesiya , 600 m, 20°05’29’’ N, 99°46’54’’ E, 6 December 2016, J. & K. Kalb (hb. K. & J. Kalb 42026) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. A. Allographa aquilonia (scale = 1 mm); B. Allographa atrocelatoides (scale = 1 mm); C. Allographa daintreensis (scale = 0.5 mm); D. Allographa elongata (scale = 0.5 mm); E. Allographa kansriana; inlet showing end of a terminally muriform ascospore with a gelatinuous cap (scale = 0.3 mm; scale inlet = 3 μm); F. Allographa macella (scale = 0.5 mm); G. Allographa schummii (scale = 0.5 mm); H. Allographa sitianoides (scale = 0.4 mm).