Ramalina geniculatella
Ramalina geniculatella | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Ascomycota |
Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
Order: | Lecanorales |
Family: | Ramalinaceae |
Genus: | Ramalina |
Species: | R. geniculatella
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Binomial name | |
Ramalina geniculatella Aptroot (2008)
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Ramalina geniculatella is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), fruticose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae.[1] It is found in the remote tropical island of Saint Helena, where it grows on boulders and cliffs. It was formally described as a new species in 2008 by Dutch lichenologist André Aptroot. The type specimen was collected by the author from Prosperous Bay Plain at an elevation of 330 m (1,080 ft); there, it was found growing on basalt. The initially shrub-like, fruticose thallus of the lichen later becomes pendant, reaching lengths of up to 20 cm (8 in), although typically it is smaller, about 7 cm (2.8 in). The branches of the thallus are about 0.5–1.2 mm wide and about 0.2–0.5 mm thick; they are geniculate (sharply bent) below the apothecia. The species epithet refers to this characteristic feature. Although the branches are greenish-grey, they are covered with whitish pseudocyphellae, which gives the thallus an overall whitish appearance. Thin-layer chromatography shows that the species contains usnic acid, and sometimes boninic acid and protocetraric acids. The photobiont partner is dispersed in irregular groups throughout the medulla.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ "Ramalina geniculatella Aptroot". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ^ Aptroot, André (2008). "Lichens of St Helena and Ascension Island". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 158: 147–171. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2008.00797.x.
External links
[edit]- Pictures of Tropical Lichens – Image of species