Verrucaria hochstetteri Fr., Lichenogr. Europ. Reform. 435, 1831

Pykaelae, Juha, Kantelinen, Annina & Myllys, Leena, 2020, Taxonomy of Verrucaria species characterised by large spores, perithecia leaving pits in the rock and a pale thin thallus in Finland, MycoKeys 72, pp. 43-92 : 43

Verrucaria hochstetteri Fr., Lichenogr. Europ. Reform. 435, 1831

Type.

Germania: Regni Würtemberg, Blabyrae, ad rupes calcareas, Hochstetter (UPS-L-708716!, holotype).

Description.

Prothallus not seen. Thallus light grey, endolithic, dark lines between contiguous conspecific thalli present. Perithecia immersed, leaving deep pits in the rock. Involucrellum absent. Exciple 0.32-0.4 mm in diam., longer than wide, wall black, rather thin. Asci ca. 110-125 × 30-38 mm. Ascospores 0-septate, (25-)26-30(-35) × 16-20 mm.

Notes.

The specimen is small and the description above is based on only one perithecium dissected. Verrucaria hochstetteri was reported from Finland by Pykälä (2007). However, all the Finnish specimens have narrower spores (max. 18 mm broad) than in the type specimen of V. hochstetteri and no dark lines between contiguous conspecific thalli. Thus, they apparently do not belong to V. hochstetteri , but to V. foveolata .