Physconia thorstenii A. Crespo & Divakar

in Divakar & al., Mycol. Res., 111: 1315, 2007.
Synonyms:
Distribution: N - TAA (Divakar & al. 2007). C - Laz (Divakar & al. 2007), Sar (Divakar & al. 2007).
Description: Thallus foliose, heteromerous, dorsiventral, adnate, forming more or less orbicular up to 6(-8) cm wide rosettes. Lobes linear, discrete to usually imbricate, 1-3 mm wide, flat to irregularly concave. Upper surface grey to grey-brown, uniformly or patchily pruinose, especially at the tips, the margins often bearing up to 1 mm wide secondary lobules, most commonly in thallus centre. Lower surface tan to pale brown in the peripheral zone, dark brown to black in central parts, with black, squarrosely branched rhizines which may form a dense mat. Upper cortex prosoplectenchymatous in longitudinal section, but appearing paraplectenchymatous in transverse section, with relatively thin-walled, rectangular cells, overlain by a 8-12 µm thick epinecral layer; medulla white; lower cortex prosoplectenchymatous. Apothecia common, lecanorine, sessile, 1-2 mm across, with a brown, often pruinose disc and a usually lobulate thalline margin. Asci 8-spored, elongate-clavate, very thin-walled, with a K/I+ blue, tall tholus penetrated by a faintly amyloid apical cushion, the wall K/I-, surrounded by a K/I+ blue outer layer, Lecanora-type. Ascospores 1-septate, brown, ellipsoid, (24-)27-34(-40) x (12.5-)14.5-18 μm, with an ornamented perispore, not thickened at apex, Physconia-type. Photobiont chlorococcoid. Spot tests: cortex and medulla K-, C-, KC-, P-, UV-. Chemistry: without lichen substances,
Note: this recently-described corticolous species grows on the nutrient-rich or moderately eutrophicated rough bark of a wide range of both deciduous and evergreen trees. Common in the central Iberian Peninsula, it is also known from the southern Euro-Asiatic region (Italy, Austria, France, Greece, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tadzhikistan), and from North Africa (Morocco). In Italy it might have been confused with P. distorta, and might be more frequent. See also note on P. thorstenii:
Growth form: Foliose, narrow lobed
Substrata: bark
Photobiont: green algae other than Trentepohlia
Reproductive strategy: mainly sexual

Commonnes-rarity: (info)

Alpine belt: absent
Subalpine belt: absent
Oromediterranean belt: absent
Montane belt: very rare
Submediterranean belt: very rare
Padanian area: absent
Humid submediterranean belt: very rare
Humid mediterranean belt: very rare
Dry mediterranean belt: very rare

pH of the substrata:

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Solar irradiation:

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Aridity:

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Eutrophication:

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Poleotolerance:

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Altitudinal distribution:

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Predictive model