Pyxine himalayensis Awas

Yang, Mei-Xia, Wang, Xin-Yu, Liu, Dong, Zhang, Yan-Yun, Li, Li-Juan, Yin, An-Cheng, Scheidegger, Christoph & Wang, Li-Song, 2019, New species and records of Pyxine (Caliciaceae) in China, MycoKeys 45, pp. 93-109 : 93

Pyxine himalayensis Awas

Description.

Thallus grey-white, soredia and isidia absent; medulla yellow to orange-yellow; apothecia common, laminal, constricted at base, up to 2 mm in diam.; internal stipe colourless, K–, hypothecium 50-80 μm thick, spores brown, 15-25 × 6-9 μm. Upper cortex K+ yellow, UV–, medulla K–, C–, P–; containing atranorin (major), +/- zeroin, triterpense.

Habitat and distribution.

Growing on bark of Rhododendron , Quercus , Alnus , Juglans , Sophora , Lonicera and Lyonia spp. and rarely on rocks, at elevations of 1330-3600 m in semi-arid environments. Worldwide distribution: India ( Awasthi 1982) and added here to the flora of China.

Notes.

Pyxine himalayensis is distinctive for having lobes 1.5-3.0 mm wide, an orange medulla and a lack of isidia and soredia, lichexanthone and norstictic acid. Pyxine himalayensis was first described by Awasthi (1982) and it is characterised by an orange medulla and colourless internal stipe of apothecia. The closely related Pyxine limbulata is described as having a yellow medulla and a brown internal stipe ( Hu and Chen 2003). There are 24 specimens of this species in the KUN-L. The phylogenetic analysis of ITS and mtSSU sequences confirm that these are independent species.

Selected specimens examined (KUN).

CHINA: SICHUAN PROVINCE: Dukou City, Shibao Mt., 2800 m elev., 29 Jun 1983, L. S. Wang 83-628; Yuanyang Co., Bailing commune, 3100 m elev., on Quercus , 11 Aug 1983, L. S. Wang 83-1508; 3250 m elev., on stone, 10 Aug 1983, L. S. Wang 83-1483; Muli Co., Yazui forest farm, on Quercus , 3000 m elev., 20 Aug 1983, L. S. Wang 83-1589, 83-1596; Donglang, 3000 m elev., on bark, 10 Sep 1983, L. S. Wang 83-2220. XIZANG PROVINCE: Bomi Co., Gang vil., 2688 m elev., 29°52.983'N, 095°33.593'E, on branch of Populus yunnanensis , 20 Sep 2014, L. S. Wang et al. 14-46203, 14-46162. YUNNAN PROVINCE: Luquan Co., 30 km from Sapanying Co. to Zehei Co., 2540 m elev., 26°04'24.53"N, 102°36'19.15"E, on Quercus , 19 Apr 2014, L. S. Wang et al. 14-43218, 14-43204; Luquan Co., Zhongcun Vil., 2350 m elev., 25°20'146"N, 102°05'835"E, on bark of Quercus , 1 May 2009, L. S. Wang 09-30279.