ITALIC 8.0

Micarea pseudomicrococca Launis & Myllys

in Launis & al., Lichenologist, 51: 22, 2019

Synonyms:

Distribution:

Description: Thallus crustose, thinly episubstratic, olive-green to rarely partly bright green, consisting of minutely granular, 25-40(-55) μm thick goniocysts usually coalescing into larger granules, with crystals soluble in K visible under polarized light. Apothecia micareoid, 0.2-0.4 mm across, flat to strongly convex, sometimes tuberculate, creamy white to pale brown, K- and C-. Proper exciple developed only in young apothecia, colourless, of paraphysis-like hyphae; epithecium colourless to brownish; hymenium colourless, sometimes with vertical brownish streaks, 35-50 μm high, with crystals soluble in K visible under polarized light; paraphyses numerous, of two types: 1) scanty, sparingly branched, 0.8-1(-1.2) μm thick, the apical cells not wider; 2) more abundant, sometimes 1-3 times branched from the apices (with a fork- or brush-like appearance), 1.2-2 μm thick, the apical cells up to 3 μm wide; hypothecium colourless. Asci 8-spored, clavate to cylindrical-clavate, with an unstained wall and a K/I+ blue outer layer and apical dome, the latter with a non-amyloid, cylindrical axial mass, 30-35 x 8-10 μm. Ascospores 0-1(-2)-septate, hyaline, cylindrical-ellipsoid to obovoid, 8-15 x 2-3.2 μm. Pycnidia cream-white to brownish, K-, C-, of two types: 1) mesopycnidia frequent, immersed amongst goniocysts, globose, to 100 μm across, 2) micropycnidia sometimes few or absent, sessile to immersed, 80-100 μm across. Mesoconidia cylindrical or cylindrical-fusiform, 4-5 x 1.2-1.5 μm; microconidia thread-like to narrowly fusiform, 5.5-9(-9.5) x 0.8-1(-1.2) μm. Photobiont micareoid, the cells 4.5-7.5 μm wide. Spot tests: thallus and apothecia K-, C-, KC-, P-. Chemistry: methoxymicareic acid.

Note: a recently recognized segregate of M. micrococca, mainly growing on bark. To be looked for in Italy.

Growth form: Crustose

Substrata: bark

Photobiont: green algae other than Trentepohlia

Reproductive strategy: mainly sexual

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