Chapsa wolseleyana Weerakoon, Lumbsch & Luecking, in Weerakoon, Rivas Plata, Lumbsch & Luecking, Lichenologist 44(3): 377 (2012)

Figure 3

Astrochapsa wolseleyana (Weerakoon, Lumbsch & Lücking) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch, in Parnmen et al., PLoS ONE 7(12): 10 (2012)

Description.

Thallus crustose, corticolous, grey-brown, surface dull to slightly shiny, uneven, fissured. Apothecia erumpent, dispersed, sometimes two or three fused, mostly rounded to seldom slightly angular, 0.7-1.2 mm diam.; thalline margin raised to lobulate, lobes erected to recurved, inner part brown, covered with rose-red or white pruina; disc exposed, rose-red, covered with thick, rose-red pruina. Exciple fused, cupular, laterally 180-250 μm wide, yellowish-brown to brown; epihymenium rose-red with granules, 20-50 μm high, K+ green; hymenium 140-230 μm high, clear, colourless, non-amyloid; hypothecium indistinct; paraphyses septate, tips rose-red and moniliform with oval or rectangular cells; periphysoides present, 50-100 μm long. Asci clavate, 1-spored, 110-135 × 35-50 μm; ascospores densely muriform, oblong-ellipsoid, with hemispherical to roundish ends, 105-130 × 30-45 μm, first reddish, becoming hyaline to slightly olive-brown at maturity, I-. Pycnidia not observed.

Chemistry.

No substances detected by TLC but apothecial disc with pigment producing K+ yellow-green efflux, suggesting presence of isohypocrelline.

Ecology and distribution.

Growing on bark exposed to wind and high light intensity in montane forests. Worldwide distribution: Sri Lanka (Weerakoon et al. 2012) and newly reported for China.

Selected specimens examined.

China. Fujian Province: Quanzhou City, Jiuxian Mountain, Reflecting Pool, 25°42'57"N, 118°07'14"E, alt. 1540 m, on bark, 5 Jul 2019, F.Y. Liu FJ19148-b (LCUF) (GenBank MW009106 for ITS, MW010270 for LSU and MW010279 for SSU) ; China. Fujian Province: Quanzhou City, Jiuxian Mountain, Natural Observation Path, 25°42'44"N, 118°07'17"E, alt. 1460 m, on bark, 25 Jul 2019, F.Y. Liu FJ19158 (LCUF) (GenBank MW009078 for ITS, MW010273 for LSU and MW010277 for SSU) . China. Fujian Province: Quanzhou City, Jiuxian Mountain, Reflecting Pool, 25°42'57"N, 118°07'14"E, alt. 1540 m, on bark, 25 Jul 2019, F.Y. Liu FJ19127-2, same locality, FJ19128-2, FJ19141-2 (LCUF) .

Note.

Chapsa wolseleyana is characterised by its grey-brown, uneven thallus, apothecia with raised to lobed thalline margin, rose-red discs with similar coloured pruina, rose-red epihymenium and paraphyses tips, distinct periphysoids, 1-spored asci, muriform ascospores, red when young and hyaline to olive-brown when old. Only a few species of Chapsa have pigmented discs and among them C. rubropulveracea Hale ex Mangold, Lücking & Lumbsch is morphologically most similar to C. wolseleyana, but its thallus is farinose and its ascospores are 8 per ascus, smaller (15-20 × 5-6 μm) and transversely septate (Lumbsch et al. 2011).

Chapsa wolseleyana was transferred to Astrochapsa, based on a phenotype-based analysis (not molecular phylogeny) (Parnmen et al. 2012). However, our phylogenetic analysis shows that this species belongs in Chapsa, rather than Astrochapsa . Chapsa wolseleyana was associated phylogenetically with a strongly-supported clade (100/1) with C. patens, but with sufficient distance to be considered a distinct species. In addition, the latter differs from C. wolseleyana in having larger pale brown apothecia (up to 2 mm diam.) with white pruina, unpigmented epihymenium and unpigmented paraphyses adspersed with fine greyish to brownish granules, hyaline ascospores (Frisch et al. 2006; Joshi et al. 2012; Joshi et al. 2018).