The morphology, anatomy, chemistry and ecology of some corticolous and lignicolous species of Buellia from the Iberian Peninsula that contain secondary lichen compounds are discussed, including B. chloroleuca, B. disciformis, B. erubescens, B. hyperbolica and B. leptoclinoides. These species are compared with other corticolous Buellia species that occur outside the study area, including B. arnoldii, B. insignis, B. regularis and B. sanguinolenta. The misunderstood B. zahlbruckneri J. Steiner and B. jorgei, are synonyms of B. erubescens, and the invalid taxon B. zahlbruckneri sensu Schauer non Steiner and B. poeltii, are synonyms of B. chloroleuca. New chemical data on several taxa are reported. A key to the pecies and illustrations of their ascospores are provided.

Caloplaca cancarixiticola Nav. -Ros., Egea & Llimona (Teloschistales, Lichenes) is described as new. It is characterized by a lobate thallus weakly attached to the substratum, and narrowly ellipsoid or ellipsoid-fusiform ascospores, (14.5–) 16–22(–25) × (4–)4–5–6um3 with a narrow equatorial wall-thickening, only (1–) 2.5–3.5(–4) um wide. This new species, related to the Caloplaca aurea-group of the subgenus Gasparrinia, was found on cancarixite, an ultrapotassic rock, in a volcanic region of Albacete (SE Spain).

The Parmeliella nigrocincta complex in the northern Andean region is discussed. The commonest species, P. miradorensis Vain. (syn. nov. P. nigrocincta var. brasiliensis Malme) is a foliose-squamulose taxon of the Andean mist forests, with a fairly wide distribution. It also reaches the West Indies and Macaronesia. In addition, there is a thick, small-squamulose species with round spores, P. incrassate sp. nov., in the northen Andes. This species occurs at the forest limit, on Polylepis at higher altitudes (to 4500 m) in the same region. Parmeliella nigrocincta s.str. does not appear to occur this far north, and appears to be restricted to more southern parts, mainly in Chile. There is a further species on rocks in the northern Andes, P. saxicola sp. nov., which is closely related to the cold-temperate P. triptophylla. An isidiate species, P. clavulifera sp. nov., is described from Mexico. It is somewhat reminiscent of P. miradorensis, but belongs in the P. pannosa complex. Lectotypes for P. miradorensis Vain, and P. nigrocincta var brasiliensis Malme have been selected.

Santessoniella rugosa Henssen & Kantvilas is described from south-west Tasmania. The granulose to subfruticose thallus is strongly gelatinous, composed of terete, wrinkled lobes, and bears numerous small, orange apothecia. The species differs from other members of the genus in details of external and internal thallus morphology.

The effects of wave exposure and aspect on the zonation of supralittoral lichens were studied at 14 sites in Hong Kong. In general, increasing wave exposure raised the supralittoral zones and extended their vertical widths. A higher lichen cover in the lower zones (Zones 1 and 2)l was found with greater wave exposures, but the opposite was true for upper zones (Zones 3 and 4). Lichen diversity was greater with increased wave exposure in three out of the four zones (Zones 2–4). The effects of aspect are mainly due to the prevailing winds, which resulted in south- and east-facing shores supporting a higher cover and diversity of lichens. The distribution patterns of lichens on this subtropical seashore differed from previous studies in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere.

Maximum parsimony analysis of nuclear SSU rDNA sequences was utilized to infer the phylogenetic relationships of representatives of the macrolichen families Cladoniaceae, Sphaerophoraceae, and Stereocaulaceae (Lecanorales subord. Cladoniineae, Ascomycotina). Farris’ parsimony jackknifing, and a similar jackknife strategy with branch-swapping and multiple addition sequences in PAUP*, were performed to assess branch support. The results indicate that the Sphaerophoraceae should be emended to include Neophyllis (formerly Cladoniaceae or Stereocaulaceae) and Austropeltum (formerly Stereocaulaceae), and it is suggested that the type of boundary tissue present is a synapomorphy for the family. The families Sphaerophoraceae and Bacidiaceae form a clade, together with Psora decipiens, Tephromela atra and Scoliciosporum umbrinum. The Cladoniaceae should be emended to include Pilophorus, and the genera Metus, Cladia and Heterodea should also be included in the family. The sometimes-recognized families Cladiaceae and Heterodeaceae are shown to be derived from within Cladoniaceae. The Stereocaulaceae is recircumscribed to accommodate Stereocaulon only. Neither the possession of podetia/ pseudopodetia, a dimorphic, cladoniiform thallus, nor the presence of cephalodia, is a morphological synapomorphy for a monophyletic group in our analysis. Optimising ascus structures onto one of the most parsimonious trees suggest that tube-like apical structures may well be primitive characteristics within the Lecanorales. The two lecanoralean suborders Lecanorineae and Cladonineae are both paraphyletic groups in the present analysis. It is pointed out that if further studies confirm that Stereocaulon is the sister-group to the Cladoniaceae, as circumscribed here, then there may be no reason to accept the two families Cladoniaceae and Stereocaulaceae as distinct. Branch-swapping and several random-addition sequencesimprove resolution, adding several supported groups in the topology, and improve support values for groups already supported by parsimony jackkniring analyses, and we suggest a procedure for implementing this by using PAUP*

We have investigated whether DNA extraction protocols designed specifically for fungi and/or lichens perform better on lichens than do corresponding protocols designed for plants and insects. Two different PCR-amplification protocols were used to evaluate the quality of the DNA extracted with each method. The DNA extractions with highest quality were obtained with the protocols designed for insects and plants, and the most successful amplifications were obtained with Ready-To-Go PCR Beads. This indicates that fungal or lichen specific protocols might not be necessary for successful extraction of high quality DNA from lichens.