Caloplaca lenae sp. nov., and other Caloplaca species with caloploicin and vicanicin

Abstract

A new species, Caloplaca lenae Søchting & Figueras is described. It is a saxicolous lichen from a very dry and warm region of Central Asia, characterized by a thick occasionally effigurate thallus, with well-developed, labriform soralia, and conspicuous dark pycnidia. The apothecia are only present in some localities, and the spore form is very variable. Apart from anthraquinones it contains the depsidones, caloploicin, vicanicin and isofulgidin that have been recorded from few other species of Caloplaca, Fulgensia and Teloschistes. The taxonomic significance of the presence of depsidones is discussed in relation to a phylogenetic tree inferred from ITS data of nuclear ribosomal DNA.