[BGBM-Logo] Lichen determination keys
- Hyperphyscia -		 [BGBM-Foto klein]

COMPILED, PROVISIONAL KEY TO THE SPECIES OF HYPERPHYSCIA with short diagnoses

by H. Sipman, 3 October 2002 / general remarks

1a Vegetative propagules present --- 2
1b Vegetative propagules absent --- 13

2a Soralia present, laminal or marginal --- 3
2b Granules present, marginal, developing into more or less coralloid structures --- 11
2c Isidia present, laminal, cylindrical or globular, then of similar size to soredia but corticate and not grouped in soralia --- 12
2d Phyllidia present, marginal (Phyllidia present on lobe margins, occasionally isidium-like; marginal lobes not closely adnate, more or less ascending, to 1 mm wide, often somewhat concave and overlapping each other laterally; upper surface brown to greyish brown, shiny to dull, sometimes weakly pruinose; medulla white; lower surface black, white near the margins; ascospores of Physcia- or Pachysporaria-type, 14-20 x 8-10 mu; pycnoconidia to 16 mu long; chemistry: none. - Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul - Rio de Janeiro), Argentina, Kenya) --- Hyperphyscia tuckermannii (Lynge) Moberg

3a Medulla completely or largely orange to red --- 4
3b Medulla white (spots of orange pigment may be present in or near the lower cortex) --- 6

4a Lower surface ochraceous to brownish; known only from Japan (Soralia present, laminal or submarginal, capitate; marginal lobes 0.5-1.3 mm wide; upper surface greenish grey to greyish green, turning ochraceous in the herbarium; medulla orange-red or partly white; lower surface ochraceous to brownish; ascospores of Pachysporaria-type, dark brown, 16-20 x 7-8 mu; pycnoconidia 17-20 mu long; chemistry: skyrin, zeorin, indet. substance. - Japan) --- Hyperphyscia crocata Kashiw.
4b Lower surface black, paler towards the margins; occurring elsewhere --- 5

5a Upper surface olivaceous grey; upper cortex sometimes flaking and revealing the medulla; black prothallus visible (Soralia present, laminal, maculiform, not capitate, becoming confluent and covering the central part of the thallus, greenish grey; upper cortex sometimes fragile, flaking off and revealing the medulla; marginal lobes 0.5-1 mm long, 0.3-0.5 mm wide; upper surface brownish grey, shiny; medulla orange; lower surface orange- to dark brown or black, without rhizines; ascospores 1-septate, 15-22 x 8-12 mu; chemistry: terpenoids and skyrin. - Venezuela (Caracas), Surinam) --- Hyperphyscia pyrithrocardia (Müll. Arg.) Moberg & Aptroot
5b Upper surface brownish; cortex not flaking; black prothallus absent (Soralia present, laminal, maculiform, capitate to crateriform, occasionally confluent and covering central part of the thallus, occasionally on lobules; [dark prothallus absent]; marginal lobes to 1 mm wide; upper surface grey-brown to dark brown, sometimes white-pruinose; medulla orange to red; lower surface black, paler towards the margins; ascospores of Pachysporaria-type, 16-18 x 8-10 mu; pycnidia 15-20 mu long; hypothecium orange; chemistry: skyrin. - East Africa, Hawaii, Jamaica, Argentina, Nepal) --- Hyperphyscia pandani (H. Magn.) Moberg

6a (3) Marginal lobes to 4 mm wide, often ascending and concave; soralia initially usually marginal (Soralia present, submarginal to marginal, rarely laminal, capitate, mostly scattered, sometimes covering central parts; marginal lobes of variable width, 0.4-3.5 mm, overlapping each other laterally, often concave; upper surface greyish green to brownish grey, not pruinose; medulla white; lower surface whitish to blackish; ascospores of Pachysporaria-type, 19-24 x 10-11 mu; pycnoconidia 15-20 mu long; chemistry: no substances. - Argentina, Brazil (Sao Paulo), Kenya, South Africa) --- Hyperphyscia cochlearis Scutari
6b Marginal lobes mostly under 1 mm wide, applanate and more or less flat --- 7

7a Soralia initially laminal --- 8
7b Soralia initially marginal --- 9

8a Black prothallus absent; soralia often somewhat capitate (Soralia present, maculiform, crateriform to somewhat capitate, starting as small protrusions on the lobes, sometimes becoming distinctly capitate on lobules, when abundant covering central parts of the thallus; usually no visible prothallus; marginal lobes 0.3-0.5 mm wide; upper surface pale- to dark olivaceous grey or pale brownish grey, sometimes (not in Europe) more strongly brownish, to brown or dark brown, rarely pruinose, not shiny; medulla white, occasionally with orange spots on lower side; lower surface pale to brownish near margin, black centrally; ascospores of Pachysporaria- to Physcia-type, 14-20 x 7-10 mu; pycnoconidia 15-20 mu long; chemistry: none (or skyrin). - widespread in tropical and subtropical areas) --- Hyperphyscia adglutinata (Flörke) H.Mayrhofer & Poelt
8b Black prothallus present; soralia maculiform (Soralia present, superficial, rounded or elongate covering raised lobe centre; black prothallus often visible; marginal lobes to 10 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide; upper surface pale brownish; medulla white with orange spots; lower surface black; ascospores of Pachysporaria-type, (13.5-)15-23 x 7-9.5 mu, ellipsoid, pale brown - Nepal, America) --- Hyperphyscia minor (Fée) Kalb

9a Ascospores (2-)3(-4)-septate; known from SE Brazil to Argentina (Soralia present, very variable, mostly submarginal to marginal, sometimes terminal or laminal, punctiform to globose or lip-shaped, up to ca. 1 mm diam., often confluent and forming sorediate patches or linear, marginal soralia; blackish prothallus present or absent; marginal lobes of variable width, to 2 mm wide, usually overlapping each other laterally, sometimes concave; upper surface greyish olivaceous to pale olivaceous; medulla whitish; lower surface dark greyish brown, paler near the margins; ascospores of Conradia-type, (2-)3(-4)-septate, (19-)20-24(-26) x (9-)10-11(-12) mu; pycnoconidia 11-17 mu long; chemistry: none. - Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Argentina) --- Hyperphyscia variabilis Scutari
9b Ascospores 1-septate; not restricted to SE South America --- 10

10a Thallus usually pruinose, brownish; pycnoconidia 11-15 mu long; widespread (Soralia present, starting as marginal, delimited patches on inner lobes, more or less confluent and covering central part of thallus with granular to almost isidium-like soredia; marginal lobes to 1 mm wide, usually narrower; upper surface brown to dark brown, rarely grey-brown, mostly with white to blue-grey pruina which becomes maculate at the lobe tips; medulla white; lower surface black, greyish brown near the margins; ascospores of Pachysporaria-type, rarely of Physcia-type, 15-21 x 7-11 mu; pycnoconidia 11-15 mu long. - East Africa, Australia) --- Hyperphyscia pruinosa Moberg
10b Thallus not pruinose, olivaceous; pycnoconidia 8-10 mu long; only known from Venezuela. NB! Olivaceous to pale brownish specimens with marginal soralia and normal spores and conidia are included in H. adglutinata in, e.g., North America (Soralia present, marginal; marginal lobes ?; upper surface olivaceous, not pruinose; medulla white; lower side black; ascospores of Pachysporaria-type, 15-18 x 7-10 mu, ellipsoid, dark brown; pycnoconidia 8-10 mu long; chemistry: none. - Venezuela (Falcon), only type known) --- Hyperphyscia mobergii Kalb

11a (2) Ascospores 3(-4)-septate (Granular to coralloid, ca. 50 mu wide appendices present along lobe margins; marginal lobes indistinct, to 0.5 mm wide, inner lobes ascending to erect; upper surface [grey?]; medulla white; lower surface black, without rhizines; ascospores of Conradia-type, 3(-4)-septate; chemistry: none. - Argentina (Buenos Aires), Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)) --- Hyperphyscia coralloides (Lynge) Scutari
11b Ascospores 1-septate (Granular to coralloid, ca. 50 mu wide (?) appendices present along lobe margins; marginal lobes indistinct, to 0.5 mm wide; upper surface [grey?]; medulla white; lower surface black, without rhizines; ascospores of Pachysporaria-type, 16-20(-23) x 8-10(-11) mu; pycnoconidia unknown; chemistry: none. - Argentina (Buenos Aires, Cordoba)) --- Hyperphyscia pseudocoralloides Scutari

12a (2) Isidia globular, resembling soredia but corticate and not grouped in soralia (Isidia present, globular, in thallus centre; dark prothallus sometimes present; marginal lobes 2-3 mm long, 0.2-0.8(-1) mm wide; upper surface olivaceous grey to grey-brown or brown, with weak yellowish tinge, not pruinose, shiny; medulla white, often with orange spots, mainly in lower part; lower surface black, paler towards the margins; ascospores of Pachysporaria-type, rarely of Physcia type, 18-21 x 8-1 mu; Pycnoconidia 15-20 mu long; chemistry: skyrin, terpenoid. - Nepal, East Africa, Argentina) --- Hyperphyscia granulata (Poelt) Moberg
12b Isidia cylindrical (Isidia present, cylindrical, laminal, often crowded; [dark prothallus absent?]; marginal lobes to 1 mm wide; upper surface grey-brown to brown, sometimes thinly whitish-pruinose, dull; medulla white; lower surface black, paler towards the margins; ascospores of Pachysporaria- or Physcia-type, 14-18 x 7-10 mu; pycnoconidia 15-20 mu long. - East Africa) --- Hyperphyscia isidiata Moberg

13a (1) Marginal lobes over 3 mm wide; ascospores 3-6(-8)-septate (Vegetative propagules absent; marginal lobes 4-12 mm wide; upper surface greyish-fawn or dirty greenish-grey, matt, scabrid or subpruinose in parts; [medulla white?]; lower surface pale or brown, rhizinate; ascospores of Conradia-type, 3-6(-8)-septate, (20-)27-44 x 11-24 mu, ellipsoid or oblong. - New Zealand) --- Hyperphyscia plinthiza (Nyl.) Müll. Arg.
13b Marginal lobes under 2 mm wide; ascospores 1-3-septate --- 14

14a Medulla orange to red (Vegetative propagules absent; marginal lobes <1 mm wide; upper surface blue-greenish, in the herbarium with olivaceous tinge, glossy or mat, not pruinose; medulla at least in part orange to orange-red; ascospores of Pachysporaria-type, (13-)19-21 x 6-10 mu; pycnoconidia 15-20 mu long; chemistry: skyrin and/or other pigments. - Argentina (Buenos Aires), Uruguay, Mexico) --- Physcia endochrysea Kremp.
14b Medulla white --- 15

15a Apothecium margin ciliate (Vegetative propagules absent; marginal lobes linear, ca. 0.7-1.2 mm wide; upper surface greyish with an olivaceous tinge; medulla white; lower surface whitish, with sparse but well developed rhizines often projecting beyond the margin; apothecium margin mostly ciliate; ascospores of Physcia-type, 17-21 x 9-10 mu; pycnidia 15-20 mu long; chemistry: none. - Peru (Ancash), only type known) --- Hyperphyscia coronata Scutari
15b Apothecium margin not ciliate --- 16

16a Ascospores 1-septate (Vegetative propagules absent, central part of thallus often verrucose; marginal lobes of variable width, to 2 mm wide; upper surface grey-brown to dark brown, sometimes weakly pruinose, occasionally densely pruinose; medulla white; lower surface dark brown to black, paler to white near the margins; ascospores mostly of Pachysporaria-type, sometimes of Physcia-type, 15-21 x 7-11 mu; pycnoconidia 15-20 mu long; chemistry: none. - N-, South America, East Africa) --- Hyperphyscia syncolla (Nyl.) Kalb
16b Ascospores (1-)3-septate --- 17

17a Ascospores 17-22 mu long (Vegetative propagules absent; marginal lobes to 1(-1.5) mm wide; black prothallus present or absent; upper surface blue-grey to greenish brown, not pruinose; medulla white; lower surface ?; ascospores of Conradia-type, 3(-4)-septate, 17-22 x 6-11(-16) mu; pycnoconidia 15-20 mu long; chemistry: none. - Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)) --- Hyperphyscia viridissima (Müll. Arg.) Scutari
17b Ascospores 26-31 mu long (Vegetative propagules absent; marginal lobes 0.2-1 mm wide; upper surface grey or pale bluish grey to dark grey, [medulla white]; lower surface dark; ascospores of Conradia-type, 3-septate, 26-31 x 10-12 mu; pycnoconidia 14-16 mu long. - SE Brazil (Minas Gerais), Uruguay) --- Hyperphyscia carassensis (Vain.) Osorio
17c Ascospores 50-54 mu long (Vegetative propagules absent; marginal lobes hardly 0.5 mm wide; lower surface brown-black; ascospores 3-septate, 50-54 x 10-12 mu; chemistry: cortex, med. K-. - Brazil (Minas Gerais), only type known) --- Physcia obscurascens Nyl.

 

 

General remarks / key

This key treats all taxa accepted in recent publications. It is a compilation of the information presented in these papers. Herbarium material in B has been studied for a better understanding of the descriptions and for the delimitation of H. pyrithrocardia. Character statements in [ ] are guessed or based on herbarium study. These studies suggest that the taxonomy of the genus is still far from settled and delimitation problems exist even in the widely accepted species H. adglutinata.

Genus characters:

(syn. Physciopsis) Thallus foliose, deeply incised, mostly closely applanate, with distinct marginal lobes and often subcrustose center, without or with scarce, short rhizines (hapters); upper cortex paraplectenchymatous; lower cortex prosoplectenchymatous, indistinctly delimited from the medulla; ascospores of Physcia-, Pachysporaria- or Conradia-type, 1-3-septate (-submuriform); chemistry: no atranorin in the upper cortex; usually no medullary substances except sometimes skyrin.

Sources: