Blastenia

Vondrák, Jan, Frolov, Ivan, Davydov, Evgeny A., Yakovchenko, Lidia, Malíček, Jiří, Svoboda, Stanislav & Kubásek, Jiří, 2019, The lichen family Teloschistaceae in the Altai-Sayan region (Central Asia), Phytotaxa 396 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

Blastenia

Three epiphytic species recorded in the region. All have crustose, but sometimes indistinct areolate thallus. Apothecia are in all species, but two species also have vegetative diaspores. All species belong to a single section of Blastenia characterised by arctic-alpine to boreal-montane distribution (Vondrák et al., unpublished). Literature: Arup & Åkelius (2009), Arup et al. (2013), Nimis (2016), Vondrák et al. (2013).

Blastenia ammiospila : 22 localities at altitudes 1570–3000 m. Most records from humid alpine habitats; exceptionally in high-montane to alpine arid habitats. Substrate: bryophytes, plant debris, alpine shrubs.

Blastenia furfuracea : 5 localities in Altai at altitudes 1350–2400 m. In humid non-alpine and subalpine habitats; forests and sparse Larix stands at timber line. Substrate: wood and bark of Larix , bark of Betula tortuosa . The record of Blastenia herbidella in Davydov & Printzen (2012a) belongs to this species.

Blastenia sp. : One specimen recorded in forest habitat in Altai at 1100 m (Davydov 11222). Substrate: bark of Betula . This is a distinct species which we have provisionally named “ Blastenia monticola ”; it will be formally published elsewhere (Vondrák et al., in preparation). It was called Caloplaca cf. herbidella in Arup & Åkelius (2009, specimen EÅ15). Similar to B. furfuracea , but with vegetative diaspores 50–200 μm diam. (40–70 μm diam. in B. furfuracea ). The two species also differ in three DNA loci (Vondrák et al., loc. cit.).