Abstract:

Most lichens of the family Teloschistaceae (Ascomycota) produce yellow-orange-red anthraquinone pigments. However, the genus Pyrenodesmia encompasses species in which anthraquinones are absent and replaced by a grey pigment Sedifolia-grey. It was shown recently that these species are related to taxa with both anthraquinones and Sedifolia-grey (C. xerica group, C. haematites group and C. cretensis) and to species with a brown pigment instead of both anthraquinones and Sedifolia-grey (C. demissa, C. obscurella and C. reptans). Nevertheless, relationships between mentioned anthraquinone-containing and anthraquinone-lacking species remained unclear. Eight DNA loci from 41 species were used here trying to resolve these uncertainties. We concluded that C. demissa, C. obscurella and C. reptans are rather distant from the core of Pyrenodesmia and we place them outside of Pyrenodesmia sensu lato. Within Pyrenodesmia sensu lato three lineages were revealed and recognized on generic level: the genus Pyrenodesmia sensu stricto (21 species), the genus Kuettlingeria (14 species) which is resurrected here, and the genus Sanguineodiscus (4 species) which is newly described here. The genus Pyrenodesmia includes taxa which never contain anthraquinones, but Sedifolia-grey. It matches with the former Caloplaca variabilis group. Taxa of the genera Kuettlingeria and Sanguineodiscus have anthraquinones in their apothecia and Sedifolia-grey in their thalli. The genus Kuettlingeria includes the former C. xerica group plus C. cretensis and C. diphyodes. The genus Sanguineodiscus includes the former C. haematites group and C. bicolor. The identity of Kuettlingeria (Caloplaca) diphyodes was clarified and the name Pyrenodesmia helygeoides was resurrected. 28 new combinations were proposed.

Key words:

anthraquinones, Caloplaca haematites group, Caloplaca variabilis group, Caloplaca xerica group, Kuettlingeria, Pyrenodesmia sensu stricto, Sanguineodiscus, Sedifolia-grey, Teloschistaceae