Basionym: Aspicilia lirellina Darb., Wiss. Ergebn. Schwed. Südpolar-Exped. 4(11): 10 (1912)—Lecanora atra var. lirellina (Darb.) Zahlbr., Kongl. Svenska Vetenskaps- Akademiens Handlingar, Stockholm57: 32–33 (1917); type: Falkland Islands, Port Louis, 1902, C. Skottsberg (S—holotypus!).
Description
Thallus creamy white, thick, (1–1·5 mm), thinner at margin, 2–5 cm across, delimited and ± slightly effigurate at margin, sometimes with a thin blue-black prothallus; areolate, areoles 1·5–2·0 mm across, flat to slightly convex, each areole divided into 2–3 ‘subareoles’ 0·6–1·0 mm across, surface minutely verrucose; cortex lacking but surface cells with pale brown pigment. Photobiont chlorococcoid, 9–15(–17) µm diam.
Apothecia black, cryptolecanorine, innate, often elongate, 0·5 × 0·1 mm, but sometimes orbicular, c. 0·5 mm diam., 1(–3) per areole; disc black, concave to flat; thalline margin 0·05 mm wide, concolorous with, and often indistinguishable from, the thallus but sometimes separated from it by a narrow crack. Hymenium 170–250 µm tall, hyaline with purple streaks; subhymenium more densely pigmented; epihymenium blue-black (H+ blue, N+ red; cinereorufa-green); paraphyses septate, sparingly branched and anastomosing, with a gelatinous sheath, 3 µm thick widening to 5–7 µm at the apex with a pigmented cap. Hypothecium golden brown, c. 50 µm tall. Ascus Bacidia-type, c. 70 × 15 µm, cylindrical; ascospores simple, hyaline, thick-walled, 12–14 × 7–9 µm. Proper exciple not apparent in mature apothecia but with a blue-black pigment in apothecia initials. Thalline exciple containing angular crystals, not dissolving in K; cortex lacking but surface cells with blue-black (H+ blue, N+ red) pigment.
Conidiomata not observed.
Chemistry. Atranorin, α-collatolic acid, ± alectoronic acid, 4-O-methylphysodic acid (minor) and physodic acid (trace) by TLC.
Notes. In its typical form, the innate, elongate apothecia make Tephromela lirellina an easily recognized species. Any cases of doubt can be checked by the distinctive blue-black pigmentation of the paraphyses tips. Although other species occasionally have patches of blue-black pigment, the predominant colour is always purple-brown. See Tephromela atroviolacea for differences from that species. Tephromela lirellina appears to be most frequent in SW Chile with its range extending through Fuegia to the Falkland Islands.