Leproplaca obliterans is a species of rock-dwelling, crustose lichen-forming fungus in the family Teloschistaceae.[2] First described by William Nylander in 1874, the lichen forms small orange crusts with yellowish orange soralia on shaded, moist siliceous rock, especially overhanging granite. It is found across much of Europe and has also been reported from Southwest Asia, North America, and Australia.
| Leproplaca obliterans | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Teloschistales |
| Family: | Teloschistaceae |
| Genus: | Leproplaca |
| Species: | L. obliterans |
| Binomial name | |
| Leproplaca obliterans (Nyl.) Arup, Frödén & Søchting (2013) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
List
| |
Taxonomy
editThe species was first formally described by William Nylander in 1874, as Placodium obliterans. In the protologue, Nylander suggested that it might represent a variety of Lecanora cirrochroa, but distinguished it as a smaller lichen with a thallus that was consistently less clearly radiate, its marginal rays often reduced or nearly absent, a colour ranging from ochraceous to deep tawny, and citron-yellow to somewhat sulphur-yellow soredia that were less diffuse than in L. cirrochroa. He added that it appeared to be widespread in northern regions and morphologically consistent.[3]
The taxon has accumulated a complex synonymy as a result of its transfer through several lichen genera over time. After its original publication in Placodium, it was later recombined in Physcia, Lecanora, Gasparrinia, and Caloplaca, with several infraspecific names also published as synonyms, including forms and varieties published under Caloplaca, Lecanora, and Placodium, as well as combinations that treated it as a form or variety of cirrochroa or cirrochroum.[1] In 2013, the species was transferred to Leproplaca, following a large-scale, molecular phylogenetics-informed restructuring of the family Teloschistaceae.[4]
Description
editThe thallus of Leproplaca obliterans is small and irregular in outline, with pale to dark orange areoles that may be scattered or clustered and are often minutely lobed. A thin basal layer, the hypothallus, the same colour as the thallus, extends into rock cracks in a dendritic pattern. Soralia develop near the centre of the thallus and are concave, eroded, and yellowish orange. Apothecia, when present, are usually concentrated near the centre, partly immersed or sitting flat on the surface (adnate), with orange discs and a thin margin of similar or slightly paler colour; they remain small, reaching about 0.5 mm in diameter.[5]
Leproplaca obliterans can be confused with other sorediate orange members of the Teloschistaceae, especially Flavoplaca citrina and F. flavogranulosa. Compared with F. citrina, it has a more prominent prothallus, often shows more or less distinct marginal lobes, and develops initially round, concave soralia in the centres of the lobes rather than mainly marginal soralia. It differs from F. flavogranulosa in its darker orange thallus, the absence of coarse granules, and the rarity of apothecia and pycnidia. Its prothallus is formed of narrow bundles of hyphae and its soralia are initially round and concave rather than granular and marginal.[6]
Habitat and distribution
editLeproplaca obliterans grows on siliceous rock, especially on moist, shaded, overhanging granite surfaces, and has been described as characteristic of Caloplacetum obliterantis, a named lichen community defined around this species on silicate rock. The species has been recorded across much of Europe, especially in boreal, montane, and high-montane parts of the temperate zone, and it has also been reported from Southwest Asia, North America, and Australia.[5]
References
edit- 1 2 "Leproplaca obliterans". Fungal Names. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
- ↑ "Leproplaca obliterans (Nyl.) Arup, Frödén & Søchting". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
- ↑ Nylander, W. (1874). "Addenda nova ad lichenographiam Europaeam. Contin. XVII". Flora (in Latin). 57: 6–16 [7].
- ↑ Arup, Ulf; Søchting, Ulrik; Frödén, Patrik (2013). "A new taxonomy of the family Teloschistaceae". Nordic Journal of Botany. 31 (1): 16–83 [72]. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.2013.00062.x.
- 1 2 Wilk, K.; Flakus, A. (2006). "Four species of Caloplaca (Teloschistaceae, lichenized Ascomycota) new to Poland". Mycotaxon. 96: 61–71. doi:10.5962/p.419055.
- ↑ Arup, Ulf (1993). "Caloplaca flavogranulosa sp. nov. and C. citrina, two sorediate species on seashore rocks in western North America". The Bryologist. 96 (4): 598. doi:10.2307/3243991. JSTOR 3243991.