Psorula rufonigra (Tuck.) Gotth. Schneid.

Bibl. Lichenol., 13: 136, 1980 ("1979"). Basionym: Biatora rufonigra Tuck. - Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts, 1: 250, 1848.
Synonyms: Lecidea rufonigra (Tuck.) Nyl.; Psora rufonigra (Tuck.) A. Schneid.
Distribution: N - TAA. C - Sar.
Description: Thallus squamulose, heteromerous, forming up to 4 cm wide patches. Squamules at first adnate and dispersed, then ascending and clearly imbricate, 0.5-2(-3) mm wide, concave to flat, dark olivaceous brown, smooth, with entire or slightly lobed, usually raised, dark brown to black margins; lower surface dark. Upper cortex 30-50 µm thick, overlain by a thin epinecral layer and a lower layer with a brown pigment, consisting of rather thin-walled, anticlinally oriented hyphae; algal layer continuous; medulla white, thin, of intricately interwoven hyphae, I-; lower cortex 20-40 µm thick, greenish black, of thick-walled hyphae. Apothecia lecideine, black, marginal, sessile, 0.8-1.5 mm across, epruinose, often forming aggregates, with a flat to weakly convex, shiny disc and a thin, persistent or sometimes finally excluded proper margin. Proper exciple greenish black in outer part, dark reddish brown within, of thick-walled, strongly conglutinated, radiating hyphae; epithecium blue-green, often with a brown tinge, not containing crystals, K-; hymenium colourless to greenish in upper part, I+ blue, 60-80 µm high; paraphyses sparingly branched and anastomosing, strongly conglutinated, not or only slightly swollen at tips; hypothecium colourless to pale reddish brown. Asci 8-spored, clavate, with a well-developed, amyloid tholus containing a deeper amyloid tube and lacking an ocular chamber, Porpidia-type. Ascospores 1-celled, hyaline, ellipsoid, 8-15 x 5-7 µm. Pycnidia marginal, sessile, black, with a dark green to brown wall. Conidia narrowly ellipsoid, 3-5 x c. 1.5 µm. Photobiont chlorococcoid. Spot tests: thallus and medulla K-, C-, KC-, P-, UV-. Chemistry: without lichen substances.
Note: a widespread, mainly southern species of dry areas, found on sun-exposed, inclined to vertical seepage tracks of base-rich siliceous rocks, always associated with cyanolichens of the genus Spilonema; probably more widespread in the Alps, especially in dry-continental valleys.
Growth form: Squamulose
Substrata: rocks
Photobiont: green algae other than Trentepohlia
Reproductive strategy: mainly sexual
Subcontinental: restricted to areas with a dry-subcontinental climate (e.g. dry Alpine valleys, parts of Mediterranean Italy)
paras Spilonema spp.

Commonnes-rarity: (info)

Alpine belt: absent
Subalpine belt: absent
Oromediterranean belt: absent
Montane belt: absent
Submediterranean belt: rare
Padanian area: absent
Humid submediterranean belt: absent
Humid mediterranean belt: absent
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
Herbarium samples

Mark Rahill - CC BY-SA 4.0
USA



P.L. Nimis; Owner: Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste
Herbarium: TSB (13283)
2001/11/29


Mark Rahill - CC BY-SA 4.0
USA