Species Of Foliicolous Lichens Research Articles

Foliicole Flechten aus der Kolchis (West-Transkaukasien, UdSSR)

This paper deals with 19 species of foliicolous lichens collected in the summer months of 1977 to 1980 during several excursions to the vicinity of the spas Sochi, Gagra and Sukhumi on the east shores of the Black Sea (part of the Colchis). Some new taxa and one new combination are proposed:Raciborskiella minor Vězda (sp. n.),Porina colchica Vězda (sp. n.),Gyalectidium caucasicum (Elenk. etWoronich.)Vězda (comb. n.),G. colchicum Vězda (sp. n.),Bacidia vasakii Vězda (sp. n.). Taxonomical, ecological and plant geographical notes to all species are given.

Lichen Succession on Leaves of Wilkiea macrophylla in Southeast Queensland

The leaves of Wilkiea macrophylla provide an environment on which succession in foliicolous lichen species can occur. The pioneer species are Tricharia albostrigosa and Sporopodium xantholeucum which appear to grow best as isolated thalli. These are gradually replaced by spreading species such as Porina epiphylla, Porina impressa, and by discrete but apparently competition-resistant species such as Mazosia melanophthalma. Where leaf damage has occurred, Strigula sub- tilissima and Strigula complanata are present around the wound margins. Tricharia albostrigosa and Strigula complanata are new records for Australia. Foliicolous lichens are those lichens that grow epiphytically on leaves, generally on upper surfaces. Most are microlichens, although some foliose species are known. Supra- cuticular taxa are most abundant, however subcuticular species have been reported, as- sociated with damage to the leaf cuticle (Santesson 1952). Foliicolous lichens are taxonomically diverse, and can also occur on varied substrates. They are found in a wide range of humid habitats, and are especially well developed in tropical and subtropical regions. Obligately foliicolous species were monographed by Santesson (1952) and this work was an essential resource for the identification of the taxa observed. Much of the Australian material in that work was collected by DuRietz in 1927. While some work (Filson 1965) exists on the taxonomy of Australian foliicolous lichens, there are no currently published accounts of their successional ecology. Wilkiea macrophylla (A. Cunn.) A. DC. is a shrub or small tree common in the under- story of rainforests in southeastern Queensland. The leaves of this shrub are large (10 X 4 cm), and opposite, and appear to persist for four growing seasons. Successive growth segments, separated by bud scars, commonly have two pairs of leaves. Thus leaf pairs along Wilkiea stems represent an age sequence. A characteristic leaf is illustrated in Fig. 1. METHODS Collections of over 200 Wilkiea macrophylla leaves with lichens growing on them were collected from rainforests at Mt. Glorious (27019'S, 152?56'E); Imbil (26028'S, 152?39'E); Jimna (26042'S, 152025'E) and Lamington Plateau (28013'S, 153008'E). The leaves were examined under a dissecting microscope and the lichens identified using the accounts in Santesson (1952) and Rogers (1981). Sterile thalli were determined by comparison with fertile specimens found either on other host species, or, if no fertile material was available, by comparison with the descriptions and illustrations of Santesson. The lichen floras on leaves of increasing age along stems were examined in situ on plants growing near O'Reilley's Guest House, Lamington Plateau. Leaf pairs were numbered sequentially from the apex of the branch, and leaf scars were counted so that leaves distal to the leaf scar were numbered as if a leaf had been present. Fifty stems (bearing a total of 577 leaves, excluding scars) were examined in this way, and the lichens present recorded. The occurrence of each species at each leaf pair position was recorded, and species frequency calculated. The weighted percentage of occurrence for each species at each leaf pair position was then