Diploschistes muscorum
Description 3
Thallus: rimose-to verrucose-areolate; areoles: 0.2-0.6 mm in diam., plane to subconvex, thin or thick; upper surface: white or whitish gray, rough; shiny or dull, scarcely or abundantly grayish or whitish pruinose; Ascomata: urceolate, sessile, slightly pruinose, up to 1.8 mm in diam.; disc: blackish, concave; proper exciple: up to 70 µm thick; hymenium: 80-120 µm high; asci: subclavate to cylindrical, 4-spored; ascospores: brown, muriform, ellipsoid, 18-32 x 6-15 µm; transverse septa 4-6, longitudinal septa 1-2 per transverse segment; Pycnidia: not seen; Spot tests: K+ yellow to red, C+ red, KC-, P-, UV-; Secondary metabolites: diploschistesic and lecanoric acids (both major) and orsellinic acid (minor).; Substrate and ecology: on soil or mosses, juvenile parasitic on Cladonia spp; World distribution: cosmopolitan in relatively open habitats in Mediterranean, temperate and polar regions and extending to high altitudes in the tropics; Sonoran distribution: common, occurs in the studied area at an elevation of c. 250-4100 m in Arizona, Baja California, California and Chihuahua.; Notes: The terricolous or muscicolous Diploschistes muscorum can be identified by the combination of 4-spored asci, juvenile parasitism, and the presence of lecanoric and diploschistesic acids. Similar species include D. diacapsis (distinction see under that species) and D. scruposus. The latter species is a saxicolous and is not lichenicolous. It has an epruinose thallus, (4-) 8-spored asci, and may or may not contain diploschistesic acid.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Daniel George, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Daniel George
- (c) CALS, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by CALS
- (c) Lichen Unlimited: Arizona State University, Tempe., some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/10547459
More Info
iNat Map
| Color | gray, white |
|---|---|
| Form | crustose |
| Substrate | moss, rock |
| Morphological feature | apothecia |
