''Cladonia mongkolsukii'' is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Cladoniaceae. Described as new to science in 2011, it is found in lower-elevation montane

scrub forests Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

of northeast Thailand and in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

honors Pachara Mongolsuk, a Thai lichenologist.

Taxonomy

''Cladonia mongkolsukii'' was first described by Sittiporn Parnmen and

Teuvo Ahti Teuvo ("Ted") Tapio Ahti (born 1934) is a Finnish botanist and lichenologist. He has had a long career at the University of Helsinki that started in 1963, and then following his retirement in 1997, at the Botanical Museum of the Finnish Museum ...

. The species name honours Thai lichenologist Pachara Mongolsuk. The type specimen was collected by the first author in

Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติภูหินร่องกล้า, ) is a national park located in the Loei Province, Loei and Phitsanulok Province, Phitsanulok Provinces of Thailand. The protec ...

, Pitsanulok Province, Thailand, at an elevation of .

Phylogenetic analysis

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis based on internal transcribed spacer sequence data placed ''Cladonia mongkolsukii'' near ''

Cladonia singhii ''Cladonia'' is a genus of moss-like lichens in the family Cladoniaceae. They are the primary food source for reindeer/caribou. ''Cladonia'' species are of economic importance to reindeer-herders, such as the Sami in Scandinavia or the N ...

''. This clade also includes ''

Cladonia fimbriata ''Cladonia fimbriata'' or the trumpet cup lichen is a species cup lichen belonging to the family Cladoniaceae. As of July 2021, its conservation status has not been estimated by the IUCN. In Iceland, its conservation status is denoted as da ...

'', ''

Cladonia gracilis ''Cladonia gracilis'' or the smooth cup lichen is a species of fruticose, cup lichen in the family Cladoniaceae. It was first described as a new species by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work ''Species Plantarum''. German botanist Carl Ludwig Willde ...

'', and ''

Cladonia ochrochlora ''Cladonia'' is a genus of moss-like lichens in the family Cladoniaceae. They are the primary food source for reindeer/caribou. ''Cladonia'' species are of economic importance to reindeer-herders, such as the Sami in Scandinavia or the N ...

''. The latter three species were grouped into the "

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

" ''Cladonia'' by Stenroos et al. (2002).

Description

The of ''Cladonia mongkolsukii'' is persistent, with irregularly to deeply segments measuring 0.7–1.8 mm long and 0.2–0.8 mm wide. The lower surface is white and , while the upper surface is greenish and . The podetia, or stalk-like structures, are 10–65 mm tall, 0.3–3 mm thick, and are whitish grey to brownish in colour. They may be unbranched or slightly branched at the apex, and initially lack cup-like structures (ascyphose), but soon develop very narrow (1–3 mm in diameter) at the tips. The surface of the podetia is rough and either ecorticate or discontinuously corticate with microsquamules. These microsquamules are more densely distributed near the tips. The , or spore-producing structures, are pale brown to orange or brownish and are terminal on the podetia. The number eight per

ascus An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or s ...

. They are ,

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

, oblong to

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

in shape, and typically have dimensions in the range 9–9.5–10 by 2.7–2.9–3.1

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

. In terms of secondary chemistry, ''C. mongkolsukii'' contains both fumarprotocetraric acid and homosekikaic acid as major lichen products. ''Cladonia mongkolsukii'' differs from the similar Himalayan species, ''

Cladonia awasthiana ''Cladonia'' is a genus of moss-like lichens in the family Cladoniaceae. They are the primary food source for reindeer/caribou. ''Cladonia'' species are of economic importance to reindeer-herders, such as the Sami in Scandinavia or the Nenets i ...

'', by having podetia that are esorediate (lacking soredia) and microsquamulose (possessing tiny squamules), which are not densely squamulose near the tips.

Habitat and distribution

''Cladonia mongkolsukii'' is known to grow in lower-elevation montane scrub forests in northeast Thailand, specifically within Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park. At this locality, the lichen species is typically found on rocks at elevations around 1110 metres. In 2014, it was reported from

, which was a new record for the Indian subcontinent.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18347796 mongkolsukii Lichens described in 2011 Lichens of Indo-China Lichens of the Indian subcontinent Lichen species Taxa named by Teuvo Ahti Taxa named by Sittiporn Parnmen

Taxonomy

Phylogenetic analysis

Description

Habitat and distribution

See also

References