Fissurina pseudostromatica
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| Fissurina pseudostromatica | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Graphidales |
| Family: | Graphidaceae |
| Genus: | Fissurina |
| Species: | F. pseudostromatica |
| Binomial name | |
| Fissurina pseudostromatica Lücking & Rivas Plata (2011) | |
Fissurina pseudostromatica is a lichen that forms a thin, crust-like growth on bark and belongs to the family Graphidaceae.[1] It was first described from subtropical Florida. It forms pale clusters of very small, immersed lirellae (slit-like fruiting structures) that look like tiny stromata, and standard chemical screening (thin-layer chromatography) did not detect any lichen substances. It has since been reported from Brazil and from Yunnan in southern China.
Fissurina pseudostromatica was described as a new species in 2011 by Robert Lücking and Eimy Rivas Plata, based on a collection made in Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park (Collier County, Florida). The holotype (the single specimen designated as the name-bearing type; Lücking & Rivas Plata 26512) was collected in March 2009 along Janes Scenic Drive (west of the old tram) in a Taxodium–Sabal hardwood hammock. It is deposited in the Field Museum herbarium (F). The epithet pseudostromatica refers to the conspicuous, stroma-like clusters formed by the aggregated lirellae (giving a "false stroma" appearance). The material was initially identified as Fissurina mexicana, but it was separated because F. mexicana has muriform ascospores (divided into many small compartments) and a less strongly contrasting thallus pattern.[2]
A later study using morphology and anatomy, chemical tests (spot tests and thin-layer chromatography), and DNA data from three gene regions (ITS, nuLSU, mtSSU) reported the species as new for China based on collections from Yunnan. In that analysis, not all specimens identified as Fissurina pseudostromatica grouped together, suggesting that the species may be defined too broadly and may need re-evaluation.[3]
