Hanstrassia lenae

The thallus of Hanstrassia lenae can reach up to 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter, occasionally merging thalli to form larger patches. It has an areolate structure, with colours ranging from yellowish-grey and pale yellow to ochre, orange, or brownish-yellow, often covered in a whitish pruina. The areoles are about 1 mm in diameter, flat to somewhat bullate (blistered), and sometimes overlapping. The thallus expands by developing new small areoles at its periphery and is effigurate, with weakly lobate margins.^[1]

Soralia are labriform and numerous, typically less than 1 mm in length, forming at the margins of the areoles. Soredia are more or less spherical, yellowish to ochre, and usually brighter than the thallus. The cortex of the thallus consists of prosoplectenchymatous, intricately interwoven hyphae, while the medulla is dense and oriented.^[1]

Apothecia (fruiting bodies) in Hanstrassia lenae are lecanorine to zeorine in form, sessile, and sparse. They are about 1–1.25 mm in diameter, with an initially slightly prominent margin that becomes more pronounced in mature specimens. The disc is deep orange to brownish, starting flat and later becoming convex. The hymenium measures 150–175 μm in thickness, and asci typically contain eight spores each.^[1]

Ascospores are polarilocular, ranging from 12 to 14.6–7.5 μm in size, with a septum width of 2–3 μm. Pycnidia, found in the central part of the areoles, protrude slightly and measure 0.1–0.15 mm in diameter. Conidia (asexual spores) are bacilliform (rod-shaped) and hyaline (translucent), measuring 3–3.5 by 1–1.25 μm.^[1]

The main secondary metabolite (lichen product) in Hanstrassia lenae is fragilin, making up 22–47% of its total secondary chemical content. Other compounds include emodin, caloploicin, vicanicin, and isofulgidin, with small amounts of other substances also present.^[1]

Although similar to Elenkiniana ehrenbergii in thallus structure, C. lenae differs in the darker pycnidia.^[1]

Hanstrassia lenae grows on limestone and calciferous schist, predominantly on vertical cliffs facing south, southwest, and sometimes north in dry continental regions at elevations between 300 and 1,500 m (980 and 4,920 ft). It associates with other lichen species such as Rusavskia elegans, Xanthoria sorediata, Squamarina lentigera, and Psora decipiens. It is known from limited locations in Yakutia, the Altai Region in Siberia, and Khatgal in the Mongolian People's Republic, which are all areas characterised by a continental climate.^[1]