Twenty species of lichenicolous fungi are reported on Thamnolia species and discussed. Epithamnolia karatyginii gen. et sp. nov., Capronia thamnoliae sp. nov., Cercidospora epithamnolia sp. nov., C. thamnogalloides sp. nov., C. thamnoliae sp. nov., and Sphaerellothecium thamnoliae sp. nov. (var. thamnoliae, var. taimyricum) are described from Thamnolia. Dacampia thamnoliicola and Phoma thamnoliae are introduced ad interim. Cercidospora lecidomae is reduced to synonymy with C. punctillata. Polycoccum vermicularium is new to Asia, Odontotrema santessonii and O. thamnoliae are new to North America, Cladosporium licheniphilum is new to the Arctic, Thamnogalla crombiei is new to Greenland and Svalbard, Stigmidium frigidum is new to Mongolia and confirmed in the USA, Lichenopeltella thamnoliae is new to Bolivia. Cladosporium licheniphilum and Phaeospora arctica are newly documented on Thamnolia and Lichenopeltella thamnoliae on Thamnolia papelillo var. subsolida. Thamnolia vermicularis, supporting 23 species of lichenicolous fungi, is shown to be the 15th most hospitable lichen species in the world. A worldwide key to 23 species of fungi known to occur on Thamnolia is provided.

A new isidiate, xanthone-producing species, Rinodina chrysidiata, is described and compared in detail with R. xanthophaea, a species with which it co-occurs in eastern Asia. The two species have an identical chemistry but are clearly separated by their differing lichenized diaspores, thallus morphology and ascospore type.

With 30 species, Tasmania is a major area of species diversity in the genus Menegazzia. Seven of these are new to science: M. abscondita Kantvilas, known from Tasmania and New Zealand, and M. athrotaxidis Kantvilas, M. hypogymnioides Kantvilas, M. petraea Kantvilas, M. ramulicola Kantvilas, M. subtestacea Kantvilas and M. tarkinea Kantvilas, all endemic to Tasmania. An identification key, descriptions based exclusively on Tasmanian collections, and detailed discussion of distribution, ecology, chemical composition and inter-species relationships are provided. All literature records of Menegazzia species pertaining to Tasmania are accounted for. New synonyms include: Menegazzia prototypica P. James and Parmelia pertusa var. coskinodes F. Wilson [synonyms of M. myriotrema (Müll. Arg.) R. Sant.], M. fertilis P. James [a synonym of M. platytrema (Müll. Arg.) R. Sant.] and Parmelia pertusa var. montana F. Wilson (a synonym of M. subtestacea). Incorrectly recorded species that should be deleted from the Tasmanian census include M. castanea P. James & D. J. Galloway (present on Macquarie Island) and M. testacea P. James & D. J. Galloway (endemic to New Zealand). The South American species, M. sanguinascens (Räs.) R. Sant., is recorded in Australasia (Tasmania) for the first time, whereas the widespread south-eastern Australian M. norstictica P. James is recorded for Western Australia. Salient features of the genus are discussed, including morphology, anatomy and chemistry. The biogeography of the genus is explored briefly. Twelve species (40%) are endemic to Tasmania, a level of endemism unmatched by any other species-rich genus on the island. Twelve species are shared with mainland Australia, eleven are shared with New Zealand, and only four species are shared with southern South America, all of which are sorediate, suggesting they are products of long-distance dispersal.

The new species Lecanora coppinsiarum Kantvilas is described, based on collections from Tasmania. It is characterized by an entirely sorediate thallus containing atranorin only, and the anatomy of its biatorine apothecia, its Lecanora-type asci and small, hyaline, simple ascospores suggest a relationship to L. symmicta (Ach.) Ach. The South American species L. subviridis de la Rosa & Messuti is recorded for the first time for Tasmania.

Acarospora dissecta (Bolivia) and Sarcogyne brunnea (Bolivia, Ecuador) are described as new to science. Acarospora trachyticola, a common effigurate species in Peru, is revised and reported as new for Argentina, Bolivia and Venezuela. Acarospora brasiliensis is considered as a later synonym of A. lorentzii, which is reported new for Peru. Sarcogyne terrena is revised. Silobia smaragdula is verified as occurring in Chile. Polysporina urceolata is reported new to South America from Bolivia.

We assessed multiple environmental factors that might influence the population vitality of the epiphytic lichen Lobaria pulmonaria at the individual tree and habitat levels in partially overgrown wooded meadows in Estonia. A total of 301 trees of four species were sampled at nine study plots, using a stratified factorial scheme, 151 colonized by L. pulmonaria and 150 not colonized by L. pulmonaria forming the control group. We used the Generalized Linear Models (GLZ) to identify a complex of factors which predicts the probability of the lichen occurring on tree trunks and the presence of apothecia on its individuals. We employed the General Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) to study the relationship between cover of L. pulmonaria and environmental factors. The occurrence probability of L. pulmonaria on tree trunks increased with increasing light availability and height of deciduous shrubs near the trunk, and decreased with increasing distance to the nearest colonized tree. The host tree species and its trunk properties were also of importance, particularly the facilitating effect of the cover of bryophytes upon L. pulmonaria. The probability of occurrence of apothecia increased with maximum values of bark pH and cover of L. pulmonaria on the trunk. We conclude that partially overgrown wooded meadows are suitable habitats for L. pulmonaria. However, to maintain the vitality of these populations, a specific management scheme, preventing development of a dense stand, should be applied. Management requirements would include 1) selective cutting of overgrowing coniferous trees (particularly spruce), 2) preservation of adult and younger potential host trees within 10–20 m of colonized trees, 3) preservation of scattered deciduous shrubs in the vicinity of the host trees.

We studied ascospore dispersal and ontogeny in several species of Trypetheliaceae and one species of Graphidaceae with megalosporous (very large) ascospores, including Aptrootia terricola (Aptroot) Lücking, Umaña & Chaves, Architrypethelium nitens (Fée) Aptroot, A. seminudum (Mont.) Aptroot, Astrothelium diplocarpoides Müll. Arg., Laurera gigantospora (Müll. Arg.) Zahlbr., and Ocellularia subpraestans Hale. Although mature ascospores are very different among species of Trypetheliaceae, all species studied share plesiomorphic ontogenetic features such as the formation of a single central euseptum and subsequent development of a variable number of transverse distosepta with diamond-shaped lumina (astrothelioid ascospore type). Even the dark brown, richly muriform ascospores of Aptrootia terricola go through an astrothelioid stage. This suggests that ascospore types may be more closely related than suggested by their mature morphology, and could explain why related taxa can develop markedly different ascospore types. We discuss the implications for systematic classification of Trypetheliaceae in the light of recent molecular studies, and also speculate about the ecological importance of large ascospores, especially with muriform septation.