Printzen, C, Tonsberg, T. 2004. New and interesting Biatora-species, mainly from North America. Symbolae Botanicae Upsalienses 8(1): 343-357.

Page 354.

MB# 367739

TYPE. CANADA. Newfoundland, Avalon Peninsula, Ferryland Distr., Bay Bulls S of St. Johns, between Rd 10 and Long Pond at N end of pond. 47°21’06”N, 52°48’28”W, in dense stand of Abies balsamea, Betula sp. and Picea mariana,  ~50 m elev., on bark of Abies balsamiana, 1.X.2000, C. Printzen 5497 (BG, holotype, NY, hb Printzen isotypes)

Life form. Lichenized fungus.

Description. [Modified from Printzen & Tønsberg 2004] Thallus endosubstratal or consisting of convex, coalescing warts, rimose to areolate; areoles greyish white to greenish grey, sometimes with an ochraceous tinge, 0.15–0.35 mm in diam., irregular in shape, rarely rounded, rarely subsquamulose. Vegetative diaspores absent. Photobiont trebouxioid alga. Ascomata biatorine apothecia, rounded to flexuose or tuberculate, solitary or densely clustered, sessile with a constricted base, 0.45–0.55 (0.7-0.90) mm diam. Disk ochraceous to reddish brown, flat to moderately, rarely strongly convex, epruinose, matt or slightly glossy; margin absent or slightly prominent and soon excluded, concolorous with the disc or slightly paler. Exciple hyaline or inner part yellowish, laterally 35–95 µm, basally 30–150(–250) µm wide, of radiating weakly branched and anastomosing hyphae with cylindrical lumina of 1.0–2.0 µm in diam., lumina of apical cells (1.0–)1.5–2.5 µm wide. Hypothecium hyaline or pale yellow, 50–150(–250) µm high; subhymenium hyaline, rarely pale yellow, 20–100 µm high; hymenium hyaline or pale yellow, 40–55 µm high; epihymenium absent. Paraphyses simple or weakly branched and anastomosing, with 1.0–2.0 µm, apically 1.5–2.5 µm wide lumina, sometimes with an apical gelatinous sheath 6–7 µm in diam. Asci 8-spored; ascospores hyaline, simple, rarely 1-septate, (8.5–)12.1–15.6(–19.0) × (3.0–)3.6–4.4(–5.5) µm. Conidiomata pycnidia usually numerous, pyriform, unpigmented, semi-immersed to immersed, 0.12–0.2 mm diam.; ostiole 0.05–0.07 mm wide; conidia bacilliform, 6–8(–10) × 1 µm.

Chemistry. K-, C-, PD+ red; argopsin detected by TLC.

Substrate and habitat. Corticolous on conifers and hardwoods in forests.

Distribution. Eastern North America from Canadian Maritimes southwest along the Appalachian mountains and west to the Great Lakes region; in North Carolina found in Blue Ridge ecoregion.

Literature

Printzen, C. & T. Tønsberg. (2004) New and interesting Biatora-species, mainly from North America. Symbolae Botanicae Upsalienses 34(1): 343-352 (original description).