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Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History)

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LICHEN GENUS MICAREA IN EUROPE 155<br />

presence <strong>of</strong> green pigments in apo<strong>the</strong>cial sections (in water or K mounts). M. turfosa is similar in<br />

some ways to M. melaenida, but has a dark coloured thallus, an olivaceous hymenium, reddish<br />

brown (never purplish) hypo<strong>the</strong>cium, and larger spores which are <strong>of</strong>ten 1-3-septate.<br />

Habitat and distribution: M. melaenida grows on, and in direct contact with, fine-grained<br />

sandy or argillaceous, mineral soils, and is not known to occur on decaying bryophytes or plant<br />

debris, etc. Unfortunately I have never seen M. melaenida in <strong>the</strong> field, and <strong>the</strong>re is little<br />

ecological information to be gleaned from <strong>the</strong> literature or herbarium labels. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, <strong>the</strong><br />

specimens examined have included few associated species, and only Cladonia sp. (squamules)<br />

and Catapyrenium lachneum have been noted. In its Hungarian locality it was said to have<br />

occurred on soil rich in precipitated salts ('argillosis natronalis') although no effervescence was<br />

apparent when I tested <strong>the</strong> soil with 50% HNO3. It is probable that M. melaenida is restricted to<br />

niches where <strong>the</strong> salts have been permanently leached out. A sample <strong>of</strong> soil from Fl. Hung. Exs.<br />

714 was sent for analysis to <strong>the</strong> Macaulay Institute for Soil Research (Aberdeen) and Dr B. W.<br />

Bache <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Institute reports 'It bears no relationship at all to a sodic soil, and is in fact fairly<br />

acid, with pH 5-2. The conductivity is fairly low (0-8 mS in 1:2 extract), so it does not contain any<br />

great concentration <strong>of</strong> soluble salts, nor does it contain any carbonate.'<br />

The data on <strong>the</strong> herbarium labels, although limited, do indicate that it occurs at low altitudes,<br />

for example <strong>the</strong> collection from Loire Atlantique was made from soil on coastal cliffs; that from<br />

Gard was made at 100 m; and those from Hungary were made at 80-100 m.<br />

M. melaenida is a rare species with a ra<strong>the</strong>r sou<strong>the</strong>rn distribution, and I have seen material<br />

from several localities in France (e.g. Loire Atlantique, Vienne, and Gard), and single localities<br />

in East Germany (Dresden) and Hungary. It is not known from Scandinavia, and its status as a<br />

<strong>British</strong> plant is doubtful. Its first <strong>British</strong> report seems to be its appearance in <strong>the</strong> checklist <strong>of</strong><br />

James (1965fl), but I have been unable to ascertain <strong>the</strong> reason for its inclusion. However, its<br />

presence in north-west France suggests that it could occur in Britain, especially along <strong>the</strong> south<br />

coast <strong>of</strong> England or in <strong>the</strong> Channel Islands.<br />

Material from South Africa and distributed as Almborn Lich. Africani no. 84 is not M.<br />

melaenida but a mixture <strong>of</strong> two, undescribed species, both <strong>of</strong> which are probably referable to<br />

Micarea.<br />

Exsiccata: Fl. Hung. Exs. 714 (BM, BM ex K, E). Krypt. Exs. Vindob. 3154 (BM, BM ex K). Vezda<br />

Lich. Sel. 537 (BM).<br />

24. Micarea melaenizaHedl.<br />

(Figs21B,38B)<br />

in Bih. K. svenska VetenskAkad. Hand. Ill, 18 (3): 83, 96 (1892). - Lecidea melaeniza ["melaniza']<br />

(Hedl.) Zahlbr., Cat. lich. univ. 3: 798 (1925). Type: Sweden, Halsingland, lignum <strong>of</strong> old pine trunk, viii<br />

1891,7. T. Hedlund iS-ho\otype\).<br />

Thallus effuse, lignicolous (sometimes extending on to bryophyte or lichen thalU), endoxyhc,<br />

or epixylic with whitish convex areolae; areolae c. 100-400 fxm diam and up to 45 /am thick,<br />

without an amorphous covering layer. Phycobiont micareoid, cells 4-7 /xm diam.<br />

Apo<strong>the</strong>cia numerous, few, or absent, immarginate, at first convex-hemispherical or subglobose,<br />

<strong>of</strong>ten becoming tuberculate, black, matt, 0-2-0-3 mm diam, or to 0-5 mm diam when<br />

tuberculate. Hymenium 28-42 /xm tall, upper and lower parts aeruginose-green, middle part ±<br />

hyaline with aeruginose vertical streaks; K- or dulling, HNO3-I- red. A^dclavate, 26-35 x 10-12<br />

yarn. Spores ovoid or dacryoid, simple, 5-9x2- 5-3 -8 yam. Paraphyses ra<strong>the</strong>r numerous, <strong>of</strong> two<br />

types; p.p. evenly distributed, flexuose, branched, thin, c. 0-7-1 ^tm wide, hyahne, but apices<br />

sometimes pigmented and <strong>the</strong>n to 2-5 /am wide; p.p. scattered or in small fascicles, stout, c. 2 /am<br />

wide, each coated ± throughout <strong>the</strong>ir length by greenish pigment. Hypo<strong>the</strong>cium c. 120-200 /am<br />

tall, dark brown, sometimes with a faint reddish (never purplish) tinge, K- or dulling, HNO3 -<br />

or red tinge slightly intensifying; hyphae coated with dark brown pigment and c. 2-3 /am wide,<br />

interwoven but becoming vertically orientated towards <strong>the</strong> hymenium and sometimes con-

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