ITALIC 8.0

Variospora macrocarpa (Anzi) Arup, Søchting & Frödén

Nord. J. Bot., 31: 75, 2013. Basionym: Placodium aurantiacum var. macrocarpum Anzi - Cat. Lich. Sondr.: 43, 1860.

Synonyms: Caloplaca macrocarpa (Anzi) Zahlbr.

Distribution: N - TAA (Nascimbene & al. 2022), Lomb.

Description: Thallus crustose, episubstratic, yellow-orange to orange, consisting of more or less dispersed areoles-granules which are mostly hidden by the apothecia, sometimes poorly developed and inapparent. Apothecia usually abundant, zeorine, sessile, c. 1 mm across, with a flat to slightly convex, orange-red disc, and a paler, persistent margin. Epithecium orange, K+ red; hymenium colourless; paraphyses simple or sparingly branched, c. 2 μm thick at base, with swollen apical cells; hypothecium colourless. hyaline, very variable, Ascospores 2-celled, polarilocular, hyaline, ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid, 10-13 x 6-10 μm, the equatorial thickening (“septum”) up to 4 μm. Pycnidia orange, immersed. Conidia bacilliform. Photobiont chlorococcoid. Spot tests: thallus and apothecia K+ red, C-, KC-, P-. Chemistry: thallus and apothecia with parietin (major), fallacinal, emodin, teloschistin and parietinic acid (minor), corresponding with chemosyndrome A of Søchting (1997).

Note: this poorly known species growing on calcareous rocks, with optimum above the montane belt, appears to be common in the Austrian Alps and should be looked for more intensively in Italy. According to Vondrák (in litt.), however, most of the material called Caloplaca macrocarpa by Poelt and Hafellner (GZU) belongs to Athallia brachyspora (Mereschk.) Halıcı & Vondrák, which is locally common on base-rich siliceous and limestone rocks in the European mountains (see Palice & al. 2018).

Growth form: Crustose placodiomorph

Substrata: rocks

Photobiont: green algae other than Trentepohlia

Reproductive strategy: mainly sexual

Commonnes-rarity: (info)

Alpine belt: very rare

Subalpine belt: very rare

Oromediterranean belt: absent

Montane belt: absent

Submediterranean belt: absent

Padanian area: absent

Humid submediterranean belt: absent

Humid mediterranean belt: absent

Dry mediterranean belt: absent

pH of the substrata:

1

2

3

4

5

(info)

Solar irradiation:

1

2

3

4

5

(info)

Aridity:

1

2

3

4

5

(info)

Eutrophication:

1

2

3

4

5

(info)

Poleotolerance:

0

1

2

3

(info)

Altitudinal distribution:

1

2

3

4

5

6

(info)

Predictive model

Index Fungorum GBIF

Jan Vondrak - Source:https://botanika.prf.jcu.cz/lichenology/index.php?pg=8&cat=32&idx=6736