Lichen Species Shifted To Different Genus

The article is part of a special issue Lichen Forming Fungi in honor of Prof. Ana Rosa Burgaz in Journal of Fungi. The genus Xanthoparmelia comprises species with widely varied morphology, primarily in the Southern Hemisphere. This paper reports on the first small lobed, leaflike species lacking usnic acid occurring in the Northern Hemisphere. The species had previously been ascribed to the genus Lecanora (Lecanora olivascens), but subsequent studies of the morphology, secondary chemistry, and molecular data of the nuITS rDNA indicate that this species instead belongs to Xanthoparmelia. Consequently, the authors propose a new species combination, Xanthoparmelia olivascens. The paper also discusses the unique presence of another Xanthoparmelia species lacking cortical usnic acid in the Northern Hemisphere. This species fits phylogenetically into a lineage that was previously only known from the Southern Hemisphere, and hence represents another example of North-South disjunction in lichenized fungi.
September 6. 2024