Parmelia asiatica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae.[1] It occurs in China and the Russian Far East, where it grows on Rhododendron tree trunks in temperate regions. It was Described as new to science in 2011 by lichenologists Ana Crespo and Pradeep Divakar. The species is distinguished by its terminal soralia, marginal linear pseudocyphellae, and chemical composition, which includes the substances atranorin and salazinic acid. Parmelia asiatica is similar to Parmelia protosulcata but differs in the presence of salazinic acid and its distribution in Southeast Asia.
| Parmelia asiatica | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Parmeliaceae |
| Genus: | Parmelia |
| Species: | P. asiatica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Parmelia asiatica A.Crespo & Divakar (2011)
| |
Taxonomy edit
Parmelia asiatica was first described as a new species by lichenologists Ana Crespo and Pradeep Divakar in 2011. The specific epithet asiatica refers to its distribution in Asia. The type specimen was collected from Shibaoshan park (Jianchuan County, Yunnan, China), at an elevation of 2,490 m (8,170 ft).[2]
Description edit
The thallus of Parmelia asiatica is adnate and small, measuring up to 3 cm (1.2 in) across. The lobes are somewhat linear, separate, and 1–2 mm wide. The upper surface is pale greenish to whitish-grey, with a brownish tinge towards the lobe tips. The surface is smooth, pseudocyphellate, and sorediate, without isidia. Marginal pseudocyphellae appear as continuous white rims up to 2 mm long. Soralia develop on the lobe tips and are usually orbicular, with granular soredia. The medulla is white, while the lower surface is black and densely rhizinate, with densely squarrosely branched rhizines up to 1 mm long. No apothecia or pycnidia have been observed.[2]
There are differences between Russian samples of Parmelia asiatica and the original description provided by Lumbsch et al. (2011). The specimens from Siberia and Kamchatka have linear marginal soralia, in addition to the spherical or hemispherical terminal ones. Younger lobes have marginal and linear to sublinear pseudocyphellae, which later become laminal and sometimes slightly reticulate. Older samples exhibit fissures on the upper surface of lobes, and a few pycnidia were identified in two specimens. Tested specimens from Baikal Siberia and the Kamchatka Peninsula all contain consalazinic acid, in addition to salazinic acid and atranorin.[3]
Similar species edit
Parmelia asiatica is similar to Parmelia protosulcata, a species found in Australia, New Zealand, South America, and the Falkland Islands. However, Parmelia asiatica contains salazinic acid and has a temperate Southeast Asian distribution. The species also shares some features with Parmelia sulcata and Parmelia hygrophiloides, such as the presence of salazinic acid, a sorediate upper surface, and squarrose rhizines. Nonetheless, Parmelia asiatica is readily distinguished by its terminal soralia and marginal linear pseudocyphellae.[2] These morphological characteristics also distinguish it from the chemically similar Notoparmelia cunninghamii, found in Australasia and southern South America.[3]
Habitat and distribution edit
In its type locality in the temperate regions of China, Parmelia asiatica grows on Rhododendron tree trunks in humid montane Rhododendron forests.[2] In 2013 it was reported from the Kamchatka Peninsula and Baikal Siberia,[3] in 2015, from the Magadan Oblast,[4] in 2017, from the Amur Oblast,[5] and in 2021, from the island of Iturup.[6] The ecological preferences of the Russian samples differ slightly from the original Chinese samples. The Siberian and Kamchatian specimens were collected in relatively humid spruce, fir, and birch forests in mountain river valleys at lower elevations, 160–607 m (525–1,991 ft) above sea level, and on the bark of various trees (primarily spruce and birch) in boreal coniferous forests.[3]
References edit
- ^ "Parmelia asiatica A. Crespo & Divakar". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ a b c d Lumbsch, H.T.; Ahti, T.; Altermann, S.; De Paz, G.A.; Aptroot, A.; Arup, U.; et al. (2011). "One hundred new species of lichenized fungi: a signature of undiscovered global diversity" (PDF). Phytotaxa. 18 (1): 9–11. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.18.1.1.
- ^ a b c d Lishtva, A.V.; Himelbrant, D.E.; Stepanchikova, I.S. (2013). "Parmelia asiatica (Parmeliaceae) – новый вид для лихенофлоры россии" [Parmelia asiatica (Parmeliaceae): the first record for the lichen flora of Russia]. Новости систематики низших растений. 47: 225–229.
- ^ Zheludeva, E. (2015). "Lichen species from North-Eastern Priokhotye (Okhotsk Sea region) new for Magadan region". Turczaninowia. 18 (4): 5–15. doi:10.14258/turczaninowia.18.4.1.
- ^ Kuznetsova, Ekaterina S.; Dudov, Sergey V. (2017). "New records of lichens from the Zeysky Nature Reserve (Amur Region, Russia)". Folia Cryptogamica Estonica. 54: 51–58. doi:10.12697/fce.2017.54.09.
- ^ Chesnokov, S.V.; Konoreva, L.A. (2021). "Addition to the lichen flora of Iturup Island (Sakhalin Region, Russian Far East)". Новости систематики низших растений. 55: 379–392.