Bacidia gallowayi
Family
Ramalinaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Crustose
Current conservation status
2018 | Data Deficient | Qualifiers: OL
Brief description
Microscopically, this species is readily identified by its mosily sigmoidally curved ascospores. We have been unable to find a comparable spore description in any other Bacidia species.
Distribution
Campbell Island.
Habitat
So far known only from the holotype collection from non-calcarcous volcanic rock on a sea cliff, where it occurred with Caloplaca, Opegrapha, Rinodina, and Verrucaria spp. Additional collections from these cliffs included Carbonea phaeostoma and Leptogium limbatum.
Detailed description
Thallus whitish, rimose; medulla I-. Apothecia sessile, 1.0 1.5(-1.7) mm diam., remaining flat to slightly convex, margin persistent, 0.08 0.01 mm wide, black. Exciple dark purple-brown [black in thick sections). K+ purple intensifying (Laurocerasi-brown). Hymenium hyaline to dilute purple-brown. Hypothecium concolorous with exciple. Paraphyses slender, simple or sparingly branched; apices not swollen, overtopping the asci. Asci cylindrical, 70-80 x 10-12 microns, &-spored, essentially uniseriately arranged. Ascospores shortly fusifom, 3(-5)-septate, straight or slightly curved. 13-18 x 6–7 microns. Pycnidia abundant, immersed, black; wall purplish brown K purple intensifying. Condia curved or hamate, c. 17-20 x 0.7 microns.
Chemistry: Thallus K-, C-KC-P-UV+ pale yellow, zeorin by TLC.
Similar taxa
Bacidia gallowayi is very similar in most respects to B. curvispora, differing most obviously in ascospore morphology, but also in having a more granular thallus ascomata with a larger maximum diameter, and a much higher hymenium. Another possible difference is the paraphysis apices of B. gallowayi are less swollen, but additional collections are required to test the consistency of this character.
Substrate
Saxicolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (7 November 2022). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, and Features sections copied from Coppins & Friday (2007).
References and further reading
Coppins B.J. & Friday A.M. 2007: Three new species of Bacidia s. lat. (Ramalinaceae) from Campbell Island (New Zealand). Bibliotheca Lichenologica 95: 155–164.