Lecanoropsis subcinctula (Nyl.) Ivanovich & Printzen, 2025

Ivanovich, Cristóbal, Weber, Lilith, Palice, Zdeněk, Hollinger, Jason, Otte, Volker, Sohrabi, Mohammad, Sheehy, Steve & Printzen, Christian, 2025, A taxonomic revision of the lichen genus Lecanoropsis (Lecanoraceae), Phytotaxa 695 (1), pp. 1-56 : 44-45

Lecanoropsis subcinctula (Nyl.) Ivanovich & Printzen , comb. nov. Fig. 14E & F .

MycoBank nº: 847156

Basionym: Lecanora subcinctula Nyl. Lich. Japon.: 46 (1890).

Type:— JAPAN. Honshu: Shizuoka Prefecture, Mount Fuji (as Itchigome), 1879, E.Almquist s.n. (H-NYL 26656= H 9506878!— lectotype, here designated).

Thallus endosubstratal. Photobiont a chlorococcoid/trebouxoid alga. Apothecia rounded, single to forming small groups, sessile, (0.42–)0.43–0.48(–0.59) mm in diameter. Apothecial disc flat to convex, pale beige to brown, rarely greyish, matte to weakly glossy, epruinose. Apothecial margin thin, smooth and continuous, darkening and becoming excluded in old apothecia, sometimes glossy, (0.01–)0.02–0.05(–0.07) mm wide. Beige, concolorous with the disc or with slightly different hue, either paler or darker than the disc. Amphithecium algal layer confined to the mid-portion of the amphithecium, granules golden-brown usually present only in the cortex laterally and in outer edge down to the base. Amphithecial cortex conspicuously even and uniform throughout, gelatinized to heavily gelatinized, (26–)32– 53(–67) µm wide laterally, (30–)36–44(–58) µm wide basally, commonly showing brown pigmentation all the way to the base, rarely hyaline. Parathecium indistinct. Epihymenium hyaline to pale golden or yellowish brown, unknown yellow pigment, K-, N- and fully dissolves in HCl; thin layer of golden-brown granules on top. Hymenium hyaline, not inspersed by granules, (30–)35–40(–45) µm high. Subhymenial layers hyaline, composed of loose hyphae, (60–)85– 95(–110) µm high. Paraphyses simple, rarely branched and anastomosing, 1.5–2 µm wide, apices weakly capitate, ca. 2 µm wide, apical gel sheath 2.5–3.5 µm wide. Spores narrowly ellipsoid, simple, hyaline, (10.0–)11.9–12.1(–15.5) × (2.5–)3.0–3.1(–3.5) µm. Conidia not found.

Chemistry: Usnic acid.

Substrate: Lignicolous, studied specimens were collected on a fence post and on a Larix snag.

Ecology: Mixed deciduous forests.

Distribution: So far only known from Japan.

Notes: Its uniform and even amphithecial cortex is a conspicuous character of this species. It could be confused with epruinose specimens of L. albellula , L. subintricata , L. subsaligna or L. omissa . However, L. subcinctula produces usnic acid, whereas L. albellula and L. subsaligna produce isousnic acid. Moreover, the amphithecial cortex of L. subsaligna is less uniform than that of L. subcinctula , which is not pigmentated down to the base in L. subsaligna . Lecanoropsis subcinctula has a thinner apothecial margin [0.02–0.05(–0.07) mm] than L. subintricata [0.05–0.08 (–0.1) mm] that is concolorous with the disc or becomes darker with age, while in L. subintricata it is usually paler than the disc. In addition, the epihymenial pigment of L. subcinctula does not react to N, whereas in L. subintricata it reacts N + red-brown and can produce streaks of Cinereorufa -green, a pigment absent in L. subcinctula . Finally, L. subcinctula produces longer and narrower ascospores (10.0–15.5 × 2.5–3.5 µm) than L. subintricata (5.0–12.0 × 2.5–6.0 µm).

Selected specimens studied: JAPAN. Tochigi Prefecture: Nikko City, Nikko National Park, 1.2 km SSE of Yumoto village ( Yumoto onsen), parking lot at Yutaki waterfall, 1394 m alt., 36°47.6909’ N 139°25.8140’ E, 28 September 2019, C. Printzen 15192 (FR-0267107), Lecanomics Code: 595 ; 5.2 km ESE of Yumoto village (Yumoto onsen), the Utsunomiya University Forest , 1620 m alt., 36°47.9531’ N 139°28.9250’ E, 29 September 2019, C. Printzen 15286 (FR-0267108), Lecanomics Code: 596

Figures

FIGURE 14. Lecanoropsis subintricata (A & B), L. sarcopidoides (C & D) and L. subcinctula (E & F).A, Germany, Bayern, S. Kern TS3- 7-7 (FR-0279002; L201), habitus. B, Czech Republic, Jihočeský kraj, Z. Palice 21295 (FR-0362780; L243), apothecial section in LCB. C, Czech Republic, Jihočeský kraj, Z. Palice 27894 (FR-0362781; L574). D, Slovakia, Banskobystrický kraj, A. Guttová, J. Halda & Z. Palice 27751 (FR-0362785; L565), apothecial section in LCB. E, Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture, E.Almquist s.n. (H-NYL 26656=H9506878, lectotype), habitus. F, Japan, Tochigi Prefecture, C. Printzen 15192 (FR-0267107; L595), apothecial section in LCB. Scales: A, C & E = 500 µm; B, D & F = 20 µm.