Lobariella ecorticata
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| Lobariella ecorticata | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Peltigerales |
| Family: | Peltigeraceae |
| Genus: | Lobariella |
| Species: | L. ecorticata |
| Binomial name | |
| Lobariella ecorticata B.Moncada & Lücking (2013) | |
Lobariella ecorticata is a species of foliose lichen in the family Peltigeraceae.[1] The species was first scientifically described in 2013 from specimens collected from a single location in Colombia's high-elevation cloud forests. It is distinguished by its coral-like branching structures that lack a protective outer layer (cortex) on their undersides, giving the species its scientific name.
Lobariella ecorticata was described in 2013 by Bibiana Moncada and Robert Lücking. The epithet, ecorticata, refers to the species' distinctive phyllidia, whose undersides lack a cortex. Although compared with L. corallophora, it differs in having coralloid (branching, coral-like) phyllidia with a flattened base, a dark lower tomentum, and a contrasting chemistry: its medulla produces lecanoric acid (chemosyndrome A2) rather than gyrophoric acid.[2]
A three-locus maximum-likelihood analysis recovered L. ecorticata as the well-supported sister species of L. stenroosiae, confirming that these two form a distinct lineage within Lobariella. Because the L. ecorticata + L. stenroosiae pair sits outside the larger pallida–crenulata complex, its chemistry (lecanoric acid medulla) and coral-like phyllidia appear to have evolved along an independent trajectory within the genus.[3]