Ramalina europaea Gasparyan, Sipman & Lücking and R. labiosorediata Gasparyan, Sipman & Lücking, two species of the R. pollinaria group, are described here as new to science. Ramalina europaea, widely distributed in Europe, can be distinguished by small, punctiform, often terminal soralia starting out on small, spine-like branchlets, whereas R. labiosorediata from North America differs from R. pollinaria s. str. and R. europaea in the almost exclusively terminal soralia formed on the tips of normal lobes, originating from the underside and becoming irregularly labriform. Morphological characters, chemistry, ecology and geographical distribution are discussed and a key to the species of the Ramalina pollinaria group is provided. The topology of a maximum likelihood tree based on ITS shows the presence of three well-supported clades, corresponding to the morphological differences of the three species. The status of several historical names variously placed in synonymy with or described as infraspecific entities of R. pollinaria is reassessed and a new neotype and an epitype are designated for Lichen pollinarius, a neotype for L. squarrosus, making it a synonym of R. farinacea, and lectotypes for R. pollinaria var. elatior, making it a synonym of R. pollinaria s. str., and for var. humilis, a taxon of yet unknown affinity.

Morphological characteristics and analyses of molecular sequence data (ITS, mtSSU) indicate that the austral-marine lichen Lichina pygmaea var. intermedia is distinct from the chiefly European marine species L. confinis and L. pygmaea. It is thus proposed to treat var. intermedia as a separate species. Lichina intermedia differs from L. confinis chiefly in the distinctly corticated branches, and deviates from L. pygmaea in the shorter and thinner branches. Diagnostic differences between the three species are summarized and distribution patterns discussed.

Heterocyphelium is a mazaediate genus containing a single species, H. leucampyx. The species was originally described from Cuba within the genus Trachylia (Arthoniales, Arthoniaceae) and later placed in various genera of the collective order Caliciales s. lat. For the past three decades, Heterocyphelium was considered an orphaned genus (incertae sedis) within the Ascomycota, since morphology alone could not resolve its systematic position. In this study, we added molecular data with the aim of resolving this uncertainty. Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses of newly generated sequence data from the mitochondrial ribosomal RNA small subunit (mtSSU) and the RNA polymerase II second largest subunit gene (RPB2) provide clear evidence that Heterocyphelium leucampyx is nested within the order Arthoniales, in the family Lecanographaceae, sister to the genus Alyxoria. Heterocyphelium is a further example of parallel evolution of passive spore dispersal, prototunicate asci and the occurrence of a mazaedium in the Ascomycota, and another calicioid genus whose systematic placement could be eventually clarified by means of molecular data. Heterocyphelium is the fourth mazaediate genus in Arthoniales, in addition to Sporostigma, Tylophorella and Tylophoron.

Numerous recent studies of lichenized fungi have uncovered hidden genetic diversity within a single phenotypic entity (so-called ‘cryptic species’). Here we report the opposite situation with vastly different morphologies apparently deriving from the same genotype. Endocena is a monotypic genus known only from southern South America. The single reported species, the terricolous E. informis, is morphologically variable; the type and other collections from the west coast of Chile being subfruticose, whereas specimens from further south and east are almost crustose in form. A sorediate terricolous lichen that is frequent on the Falkland Islands was confirmed by phylogenetic analysis of ITS rDNA and mtSSU rDNA sequences as being congeneric with E. informis and, surprisingly, both taxa were recovered as congeneric with the recently described genus and species Chirleja buckii, which is morphologically distinct from both E. informis and the sorediate taxon. Consequently, the genus Chirleja is included in the synonymy of Endocena and the new combination Endocena buckii is proposed. Because E. informis and the sorediate specimens have a similar thallus structure that differs radically from that of E. buckii, the name E. informis var. falklandica is proposed for the sorediate taxon. Poorly developed, incipient apothecia are also described from both varieties of E. informis, the first time that these have been reported for Endocena. We also report two lichenicolous fungi from E. informis var. informis, which are the first reports of lichenicolous fungi occurring on this genus.

The new species Xenolecia cataractarum Fryday is described from Campbell Island. It differs from X. spadicomma, the only other species of the genus, in having much smaller apothecia and ascospores, an olivaceously pigmented epihymenium (brown in X. spadicomma), and a thallus with a non-amyloid medulla and norstictic acid (amyloid medulla and confluentic acid in X. spadicomma). Xenolecia spadicomma is reported here from several localities on the Falkland Islands and three from the Región de Los Lagos, Chile, which are the first reports of this species since its description from Isla Wellington in the south-west of Patagonia in 1868. A full description of X. spadicomma is also provided.

In the present study, we characterized the mating-type locus of Knightiella splachnirima (Icmadophilaceae) using degenerate and inverse PCR techniques. We screened for the presence of both mating-type locus idiomorphs in DNA extracts of minuscule samples of haploid thalline tissue. We found that only one of the two idiomorphs was present in each sample, and the mating-type ratio (MAT1-1:MAT1-2) was very balanced, being 8:10 and 13:14 at local and global scales, respectively. This indicates that the species is probably self-incompatible and requires the presence of compatible mating partners for sexual reproduction (heterothallic mating system). Furthermore, we provide a mating-type screening protocol with K. splachnirima specific mating-type locus primers, which could serve as an essential tool for the conservation management of this rare Australasian endemic.

Removing lichen substances from dry lichen thalli using pure acetone is the least detrimental method. Measurements of properties strictly related to the photobiont, such as chlorophyll a fluorescence (ChlaF), are frequently used to verify acetone toxicity but they cannot reveal possible damage accumulated at the whole thallus level. Here, measurements of ChlaF have been integrated with others concerning the status of cell membranes and photobiont population (potassium leakage, malondialdehyde and photosynthetic pigment content). Dry thalli of Flavoparmelia caperata, Parmotrema perlatum and Xanthoria parietina were subjected to sequential acetone washings according to standard protocols. Membrane permeability was assessed before and after the washing treatment, and after a recovery period of 48 hours. Measurements of ChlaF were taken in a parallel experiment. Acetone washings increased potassium leakage in all the species from 3·9 to 6·6 times greater than the control level. After recovery, only P. perlatum returned to the control level. ChlaF was affected only in F. caperata, with a 20% decrease in Fv/Fm which had not fully recovered after 48 hours. There was neither an increase in lipid peroxidation of membranes nor a change in the photosynthetic pigment content. The sensitivity of F. caperata to this method and the impact of the results on its future application are discussed.

Relationships between reproductive strategies and population spatial structure have often been suggested for lichens, but there is a lack of supporting aerobiological data. For the first time, this study couples aerobiological investigations on meiospore dispersal by Caloplaca crenulatella (Nyl.) H. Olivier and Rhizocarpon geographicum (L.) DC. with analysis of local spatial patterns of thalli of both species. During a two-year monitoring period carried out on the walls of a medieval castle in NW Italy, a total of 169 polar diblastic spores, 20% of which were morphologically attributable to C. crenulatella, was detected in the mycoareosol, while muriform spores of R. geographicum were never found. Laboratory experiments confirmed that different dispersal patterns characterize the two species, the meiospores of R. geographicum being poorly discharged and only recovered at a short distance from thalli, whereas those of C. crenulatella were more abundantly discharged, suspended and better dispersed by a moderate air flow. This difference was reflected on the castle walls by the random spatial pattern of C. crenulatella, while R. geographicum showed a clustered distribution. Different discharge rates and take-off limitations, possibly related to size differences between the spores, are not sufficient to explain the different colonization patterns and dynamics of the two species. Additional intrinsic and extrinsic factors are likely to drive their dispersal and establishment success. Nevertheless, information on the relationships between different dispersal patterns of the species and the local spatial structure of their populations might help to predict the recovery potential of lichen species exposed to habitat loss or disturbance, or encrusting monument surfaces.

Lichen element content is a reliable indicator for relative air pollution load in research and monitoring programmes requiring both efficiency and representation of many sites. We tested the value of costly rigorous field and handling protocols for sample element analysis using five lichen species. No relaxation of rigour was supported; four relaxed protocols generated data significantly different from rigorous protocols for many of the 20 validated elements. Minimally restrictive site selection criteria gave quality data from 86% of 81 permanent plots in northern Midwest USA; more restrictive criteria would likely reduce indicator reliability. Use of trained non-specialist field collectors was supported when target species choice considers the lichen community context. Evernia mesomorpha, Flavoparmelia caperata and Physcia aipolia/stellaris were successful target species. Non-specialists were less successful at distinguishing Parmelia sulcata and Punctelia rudecta from lookalikes, leading to few samples and some poor quality data.