Taxonomic Note. The original spelling of the specific epithet as "wileyii" is an orthographical error; the species has been named in honor of H. Willey, with this name ending in "y" the correct spelling of the epithet is "willeyi".

Type. [U.S.A.] MASSACHUSETTS. Bristol Co., New Bedford, 1874, H. Willey s.n. (US ‑ holotype!).

Description. Thallus thin, partly within bark, quickly becoming surficial, light to darker grey, areolate; areoles to 0.50-0.60 mm wide, sometimes developing raised margins (subsquamulose), finally forming a more continuous thallus; surface plane, matt; margin indeterminate; prothallus absent; vegetative propagules present; soredia mostly developing from areole margins, 15-20 µm diam., concolourous with thallus or somewhat lighter, becoming densely but not continuously sorediate, forming discrete, convex soralia, sometimes with consoredia 30-45 µm diam.  Apothecia innate, becoming broadly attached, sometimes frequent, rarely contiguous, to 0.50‑1.00 mm in diam.; disc black, plane, sometimes becoming slightly convex; thalline margin concolourous with thallus, entire, becoming sorediate, or in part forming late, growing up around proper exciple, persistent, 0.05‑0.10 mm wide; excipular ring sometimes present, raised. Apothecial Anatomy. Thalline exciple 35‑90 µm wide, cortex absent or ca. 5 µm wide; sometimes with epinecral layer ca. 10 µm wide; crystals present in cortex and medulla; cortical cells to ca. 4.0 µm wide, pigmented or not; algal cells to 12.0‑13.5 µm long; proper exciple hyaline or light brown, 10‑20 µm wide laterally, expanding to 30‑50 µm above; hypothecium hyaline or light brown, 60‑100 µm deep; hymenium pigmented pale brown or hyaline, 100‑150 µm high, not inspersed, paraphyses ca. 2.0 µm wide, highly conglutinate, apices expanded to ca. 3.5 µm, lightly pigmented, immersed in dispersed pigment to form a light, red‑brown epihymenium; asci ca. 55 x 27 µm. Ascospores 8/ascus, Type A development, Pachysporaria‑type I, (17.5-)23.5-25.0(-31.0) x (9.0-)12.5-13.5(-17.0) µm, average l/b ratio 1.7-2.0, usually with a proportion of malformed and small spores, lumina Physcia-like or irregularly angular (approaching polygonal) during development, mature spores sometimes slightly constricted at septum; torus usually present, narrow; walls lightly pigmented, not ornamented. Pycnidia not seen.

Chemistry. Spot tests, K+ faint yellow, C- KC-, PD+ cinnabar; secondary metabolites, pannarin and zeorin.

Substrate and Ecology. Rinodina willeyi is a poorly known species which has been collected on bark and mosses growing on Carya and Acer rubrum in the United States.

Distribution. Endemic to North America, this species appears to have an Appalachian and northeastern seaboard distribution.

Notes. Rinodina willeyi and R. adirondackii are both limited to eastern North America and it is tempting to consider them as a species pair in the sense of Poelt (1970, 1972).  Unfortunately, neither species is particularly well known but both are characterized by large Pachysporaria-type I spores, a tendency to a well developed and pigmented proper exciple, pigmented hypothecium and the presence of pannarin in the thallus. The species differ primarily in the presence of soredia and the slightly but significantly shorter spores in R. willeyi. In view of the great variance in spore size in both species, this difference may prove to be unfounded with a larger sample size. If this proves to be the case, R. willeyi would have to be placed into synonymy with R. adirondackii according to the criteria of Mattsson and Lumbsch (1989). The spores of R. willeyi are similar to those of R. perreagens and R. verruciformis although the polygonal stage of locule development has not yet been identified.

Rinodina willeyi will be most frequently confused with R. efflorescens because of the similarity of thallus morphology and presence of pannarin and zeorin. However, R. efflorescens is usually characterized by the xanthone secalonic acid A which is absent in R. willeyi. In the sterile state, light coloured thalli of R. efflorescens which are relatively frequent in North America may be distinguished by their more discrete soralia, and in the fertile state by their significantly smaller, Physcia-type spores.

The light coloured thalli of the sorediate R. degeliana are also similar in habit to R. willeyi but differ in the presence of atranorin rather than pannarin and in the whitish soredia which contrast with the grey thallus. The sorediate R. griseosoralifera has spores of a similar structure and size but differs in possessing atranorin and in its more darkly coloured thalli and soredia. Rinodina sheardii is characterized by slightly smaller spores of the same type, a pigmented hypothecium and by the presence of secalonic acid A.

In an attached note, the holotype of R. willeyi was compared by Willey to R. isidioides (Borr.) Oliv., an isidiate Mexican (Sheard 2004) and western European species with an oceanic distribution (Sheard 1967, Giralt et al. 1995, Mayrhofer & Moberg 2002). The spores suggest a relationship but R. willeyi has consoredia rather than the well developed coralloid isidia that characterize R. isidioides.

Specimens examined. CANADA. NEW BRUNSWICK. Albert Co., Salmon River, E. Sérusiaux 10209; Saint John Co., Goose River, E. Sérusiaux 10228 (both CANL). U.S.A. MASSACHUSETTS. Bristol Co., New Bedford, H. Willey 427. VERMONT. C.C. Frost (both FH). NORTH CAROLINA. Swain Co., Smoky Mountains Nat. Park, T. Tønsberg 18218. TENNESSEE. Monroe Co., Cherokee Nat. Forest, T. Tønsberg 18163 (both BG).

Reference. Sheard (1995 Figs. 10-12).

TYPE. UNITED STATES. Massachusetts, Bristol County. New Bedford, 1874, H. Willey s.n. (US, holotype).

Description. Life form: lichenized fungus              

[Modified from Sheard (2010)]

Morphology. Thallus crustose, thin partially within bark, quickly becoming surficial, light to darker gray, areolate; areoles to 0.50 – 0.60 mm wide, sometimes developing raised margins (subsquamulose), finally forming a more continuous thallus; surface plane, matt; margin indeterminate; prothallus absent. Vegetative diaspores soredia, mostly developing from areole margins, 15 – 20 μm diam, concolorous with thallus or somewhat lighter, becoming densely but not continuously sorediate, forming discrete, convex soralia, sometimes with consoredia 30 – 45 μm diam. Photobiont chlorococcoid alga, likely Trebouxia. Ascomata lecanorine apothecia, immersed, becoming broadly attached, sometimes frequent, scattered, rarely contiguous, up to 0.50 – 1.00 mm diam.; disk black, plane, sometimes becoming slightly convex; thalline margin concolorous with thallus, entire, becoming sorediate or in part forming late, growing up around proper exciple, persistent, 0.05 – 0.10 mm wide; proper margin sometimes present, raised.

Ascomatal anatomy. Thalline exciple 35 – 90 μm wide; cortex absent or ~ 5 μm wide, sometimes with epinecral layer ~ 10 μm wide; crystals present in cortex and medulla; cortical cells up to ~ 4.0 μm wide, sometimes pigmented; algal cells to 12.0 – 13.5 μm long. Proper exciple hyaline or light brown, 10 – 20 μm wide laterally, expanding to 30 – 50 μm above. Hypothecium hyaline or light brown, 60 – 100 μm deep; hymenium pale brown or hyaline, 100 – 150 μm high, not inspersed; paraphyses ~2.0 μm wide, strongly conglutinate, tips expanded to 3.5 μm wide, lightly pigmented, immersed in a dispersed pigment, forming a light red-brown epihymenium. Asci ~ 55 x 27 μm, 8-spored. Ascospores Type A development (i.e., apical wall thickening after septum formation), Pachysporaria-type I: (17.5-) 23.5 – 25.0 (-31.0) x (9.0-) 12.5 – 13.5 (-17.0) μm, mean l/w ratio 1.7 – 2.1, lumina Physcia-like or irregularly angular (approaching polygonal) during development, mature spores sometimes slightly constricted at septum; torus usually present, narrow; walls lightly pigmented, smooth.

Conidiomata not seen.

Chemistry. Spot tests: K+ faint yellow, C-, KC-, PD+ cinnabar; secondary metabolites: pannarin and zeorin detected via TLC.

Substrate and habitat. Corticolous and muscicolous on Carya and Acer.

Distribution. North America (northeastern and Appalachian mountains); in North Carolina found in the Blue Ridge ecoregion.

Literature

Sheard, J.W. (2010) The Lichen Genus Rinodina (Lecanoromycetidae, Physciaceae) in North America, North of Mexico. NRC Research Press, Ottowa.