Abstract
In the New World Cetrelia cetrarioides and C. monachorum are well represented only in the southern Appalachian Mountains where the latter species is about tenfold more common than the former. In contrast, these species appear to be equally abundant in western Europe. Both species are reported from the highlands of Oaxaca, Mexico, extending the known southern range of the genus in the New World some 2500 km southwest of the southern Appalachians. The complex but remarkably stable chemosyndromes of each species from Mexico, North America and Europe are illustrated by reversephase high performance liquid chromatography. Ten years ago when we segregated Cetrelia from Parmelia and monographed the 14 species then comprising it (Culberson & Culberson, 1968), we considered C. cetrarioides (Del. ex Duby) W.Culb. & C.Culb. to consist of two chemotypes. We now know that both chemotypes are actually characterized by complex constellations of substances (chemosyndromes) (Culberson & Culberson, 1976). The major constituent of one, C. cetrarioides sen. str., is perlatolic acid and that of the other, C. monachorum (Zahlbr.) W.Culb. & C.Culb., is imbricaric acid. In our monograph we assigned every specimen to chemotype by hydrolyzing part of each extract before paper chromatography. Most workers even today do not distinguish between these chemotypes because they find the chemical analysis technically difficult, and the monograph has consequently remained the only source of information on the ranges of the chemotypes. When we wrote the monograph the specimens seen of the collective species included many from Europe and a few from Asia but only four from North America. Today C. cetrarioides sen. lat. is known in North America from 110 specimens, most of the increase being due to the explorations of Dey (1978) in the southern Appalachians, the only region in the New World where these species are not rare. The present report describes the North American distribution of C. cetrarioides sen. str. and C. monachorum and illustrates their overlapping chemosyndromes by a new type of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
