Endocena informis var. falklandica Fryday, I. Schmitt & Pérez-Ortega
MycoBank No.: MB819788
Similar to E. informis var. informis but with a crustose thallus that develops soredia.
Type: Falkland Islands, East Falkland, Stanley Common, Two Sisters, 51·68171°S, 58·00349°W, 125 m, peat in damp Empetrum heath, 18 January 2015, Fryday 10741 (MSC-0195387—holotype!).
Description:
Thallus crustose, effuse white, composed of irregular, flat to convex areoles c. 0·3–0·7mm diam., matt, epruinose. Soralia numerous, initially discrete but becoming confluent, greenish white when fresh, becoming cream-coloured with age; soredia 0·10–0·15 mm diam. Photobiont chlorococcoid; cells 10–15 μm diam.
Apothecia rare and poorly developed, observed on only two collections. See generic account for description.
Ecology and Distribution:Endocena informis var. falklandica typically occupies a different ecological niche than var. informis, being more strictly terricolous. The new variety occurs predominantly among bryophytes on peat hags (the edge of an area from where the peat has been eroded away and that is consequently drier than surrounding areas) and moribund stems of Blechnum magellanicum, rather than among other lichens and vascular plants over rocks, which is the most frequent habitat of var. informis. Endocena informis var. falklandica is very frequent on the Falkland Islands but apparently less so in Tierra del Fuego, being known from only two collections.