Hypotrachyna aspera
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| Hypotrachyna aspera | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Parmeliaceae |
| Genus: | Hypotrachyna |
| Species: | H. aspera |
| Binomial name | |
| Hypotrachyna aspera C.H.Ribeiro & Marcelli (2002) | |
Hypotrachyna aspera is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae.[1] The lichen forms loose, whitish rosettes with very narrow, finely divided lobes that give it a frilled appearance. It reproduces through small blisters on its surface that burst to release powdery granules containing both fungal and algal cells. Originally discovered in 2002 in the mountains of southeastern Brazil, it grows on acidic rocks in humid, partially shaded areas where moist forest meets open woodland. The species has since been found in several other Latin American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, and Guatemala.
Hypotrachyna aspera was formally described in 2002 by Célio H. Ribeiro and Marcelo Marcelli during their survey of the mountainous Atlantic Forest–cerrado mosaic in south-eastern Brazil. The authors placed it in the large parmelioid family Parmeliaceae, within the genus Hypotrachyna—a group characterised by foliose (leaf-like) thalli with a black lower cortex and diverse secondary metabolites. The type specimen was collected on quartzitic rock at the margin of the Tanque Grande reservoir in the Serra do Caraça, Minas Gerais, about 1100 m elevation.[2]
Chemically the species is distinguished by the presence of atranorin in the cortex and alectoronic acid in the medulla, a combination otherwise uncommon in the genus. These substances, together with the non-reactive (UV–) cortex and the medullary K+ (rose) reaction, helped the original authors delimit the taxon from similar pustulate species such as H. brueggeri and H. dactylifera.[2]