Vermilacinia rigida
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Vermilacinia rigida | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Ramalinaceae |
| Genus: | Vermilacinia |
| Species: | V. rigida |
| Binomial name | |
| Vermilacinia rigida Spjut (1996) | |
Vermilacinia rigida is a dark green, rare fruticose lichen that occurs in fog areas along the Pacific Coast of Baja California, known only from two locations about 100 km north of Guerrero Negro.[1] The epithet, rigida, is in regard to its stiff thallus branches.
Vermilacinia rigida is classified in the subgenus Vermilacina in which it is distinguished by the thallus divided into short rigid erect branches blackened to about ¼ the way up from the base. The branches are strongly compressed, resembling short grass-like blades, 0.5 to 2 cm high and 1–4 mm wide. Lichen substances are primarily the diterpene (-)-16 α-hydroxykaurane, with trace amounts of zeorin, or zeorin lacking, and two other unknowns, one of which is referred to as the T4 compound that is found in V. combeoides and V. pumila. The other unknown was not reported in any other species. The T3 compound, bourgeanic acid, and salazinic acid, which commonly occur in species of the subgenus Vermilacinia, were also not reported.[1]
Vermilacinia rigida—easily recognized at a glance—is most similar in morphology to V. laevigata, a species that is twice its size and often less definite in its shape of the branches, irregularly widened in areas to as much as 3.5 cm across. Both species have a relatively smooth cortical surface, but the cortex is generally twice as thick in V. laevigata, 100–175 μm thick, compared to 40–95 μm thick in V. rigida. Vermilacinia laevigata also differs in its chemistry, lichen substances include the T3 compound, bourgeanic acid, and zeorin that are consistently present.[1]