Taxonomy of the corticolous, shrubby, esorediate, neotropical species ofUsneaAdans. (Parmeliaceae) with an emphasis on southern Brazil

Abstract

AbstractSeventeen corticolous shrubby apotheciateUsneaspecies without vegetative propagules are reported from Brazil, including five species that are new to science:Usnea aurantiaca-parvulaA. Gerlach & P. Clerc (characterized by an orange medulla and lageniform spinulose fibrils),U. cirrosaMotyka,U. cladocarpaFée (syn. nov.:U. ramillosaMotyka),U. concinnaStirton (lectotype designated here, syn. nov.U. radiataStirton,U. floridavar.scabrosaZahlbr.),U. cristatulaMotyka,U. erinaceaVain.,U. fleigiaeA. Gerlach & P. Clerc (characterized by large spores and a thin, lax medulla),U. grandisporaA. Gerlach & P. Clerc (characterized by large spores, a black base and protocetraric or salazinic acids in the medulla),U. kalbianaP. Clerc & A. Gerlach (characterized by a vitreous cortex and annular cracks in the basal part),U. lunariaMotyka,U. meridionalisZahlbr. (syn. nov.:U. michauxiiI. I. Tav.),Usneacf.morelianaMotyka,U. parvulaMotyka,U. steineriZahlbr,U. subelegans(Vain.) B. de Lesd. (lectotype designated here),U. subparvulaA. Gerlach & P. Clerc (characterized by spinulose fibrils and protocetraric acid in the medulla) and one as yet unidentified species (namedUsneasp. 1).Usnea cirrosa,U. cristatulaandU. erinaceaare new records for Brazil. A full description with morphological, anatomical (CMA and ascospores) and chemical features (TLC), as well as geographical distribution, is provided for each species along with an identification key to all species reported. Molecular data from the ITS rDNA,RPB1andMcm7markers are present for most taxa, except forU. concinna,U. cristatula,U. kalbiana,U. lunaria,U.cf.morelianaandU. subelegans.