The Lichenologist 36(3&4): 265–267 (2004) � 2004 The British Lichen SocietyDOI: 10.1017/S0024282904014288 Printed in the United Kingdom

Sclerophora peronella new to the Iberian Peninsula

An interesting calicioid lichen has been col-lected as a consequence of the study that ourresearch group is developing in the Iberianmeridional beech forests. One of these isthe forest Natural Reserve ‘‘Chaparral deMontejo’’ (Madrid Province), which repre-sents one of the southern biogeographiclimits of Fagus sylvatica in the IberianPeninsula. The geological substratum isSilurian clayey slate. It is located in theSupramediterranean belt of central Spain.Sclerophora peronella has been found for thefirst time in the Iberian Peninsula and for thethird time in southern Europe. The previousrecords in S Europe are from Calabria (Italy)by Puntillo (1992) and from Corse (France)by Vezda (Lich. Sel. Exs. 828).

In Europe, this lichen has a boreal distri-bution (Tibell 1984, 1999; Prigodina-Lukošiene 2004), extending to Great Britain(Purvis et al. 1992) and Central Europe(Ozenda & Clauzade 1970; Wirth 1995)(Fig. 1). It occurs in humid and rathershaded situations on the bark or lignum ofold deciduous trees such as Acer, Fagus,Fraxinus, Quercus, Sorbus, Tilia, Ulmus,Alnus, Betula, Populus and Malus (Tibell1999). In Scotland, the species is knownfrom 24 sites (in the central and easternHighlands), and, when the lichen appears onbark, it is usually associated with wounds insome way, such as cankers (bacterial orfungal). Sclerophora peronella has been foundonce in North America, on the bark ofPopulus trichocarpa, in a sheltered situationon the North-west Pacific Coast (Gowardet al. 1996).

In the Iberian Peninsula, Sclerophora per-onella was found at an altitude of 1300 m,growing on the bark of Fagus sylvatica, thesame substratum as in Italy. It was found ina hole in the trunk, a short distance from theground, in similar conditions to those in

Scotland. This tree is located in a gorge,where the forest is dense, and its base is justabove the floor of the ravine; a humid zone,which is never flooded.

Sclerophora peronella is considered a veryrare species with few records. It is includedin the Red List of the Scandinaviancountries (Tibell 1999) even though thesecountries have the highest number ofrecords. In Great Britain, this lichen isconsidered ‘‘Near Threatened’’ (Woods &Coppins 2003), and it is indicative of‘quality’ habitats; it is used in the NativePinewood Index of Ecological Continuity(NPIEC), although the species is only foundon associated broad-leaved trees withinthe pinewood habitat (Coppins & Coppins2002). In Norway, Holien (1996) foundS. peronella growing on the bark of Betula,which was in a young productive forest ofPicea. Neither Holien (1996) nor Tibell(1992) considered that its presence is relatedwith the ecological continuity in forest eco-systems. In our case, the forest is an oldneglected ‘dehesa’, a sheep grazed openforest where wood was extracted until itwas declared Natural Reserve in 1974. Theforest is more or less undisturbed in someplaces, as in the gorges. The area of study isa mixed forest of Fagus sylvatica, Quercuspyrenaica and Q. petraea. Scattered in theforest or forming small groves there are alsomany species such as Corylus avellana, Ilexaquifolium or Betula alba.

Sclerophora peronella (Ach.) Tibell

Nova Hedwigia Beih. 79: 679 (1984).—Lichen peronellusAch., Lich. suec. Prodr.: 84 (1798); type: withoutlocality (BM-ACH 213, lectotype, Tibell, Lichenologist10: 174, 1978).

Thallus immersed, with short stalkedascomata, 0·4–0·8 mm high; photobiont

Trentepohlia. Capitulum hemispherical, palebrown (Fig. 2A), 0·4 mm diam., with greystalk, 0·12 mm diam. The inner part of thestalk is pale reddish, visible when the ascomais wet. The outer part of the stalk is opaquewhen dry and hyaline when the ascoma iswet. Asci cylindrical, 21–27�2·5–3 �m,

with biseriately arranged spores. Ascosporesglobose, 3–4 �m diam., surface with reticu-late cracked ornamentation (Fig. 2B).

Specimen examined. Spain: Madrid Province, Montejode la Sierra, 30TVL5851, 1300 m, on bark of Fagussylvatica, 20 vii 2003, Amo, Burgaz & Gutiérrez (MACB85856).

F. 1. World distribution of Sclerophora peronella. A, North America Pacific Coast; B, Europe. ;, new record;+, other localities; �, 24 localities in Scotland. Scales: A=400 km; B=500 km.

F. 2. Sclerophora peronella. A, habit; B, details of ascospores. Scales: A=1 mm; B=2 �m.

266 THE LICHENOLOGIST Vol. 36

We are grateful to Dr L. Tibell for verification of theidentified species, some records represented in the mapand corrections in the manuscript.

R

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Guillermo Amo and Ana Rosa Burgaz

G. Amo and A. R. Burgaz: Departmento BiologíaVegetal I, Facultad de CC. Biológicas, UniversidadComplutense de Madrid, 28040—Madrid, Spain.

2004 Short Communication 267