''Fuscopannaria saltuensis'' is a species of ground-dwelling, in the family

Pannariaceae The Pannariaceae are a family of lichens in the order Peltigerales (suborder Collematineae). Species from this family have a widespread distribution, but are especially prevalent in southern temperate regions. Genera According to a recent (202 ...

. It is found in both the Eastern and

Western Himalayas The Western Himalayas refers to the western half of the Himalayas, in northern Pakistan and northwestern India. It is also known as the Punjab Himalayas. Four of the five tributaries of the Indus River in Punjab (Beas, Chenab, Jhelum, and Ravi) r ...

, where it grows on soil in open mountain forests with pastures and cliffs.

Taxonomy

The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2000 by Norwegian lichenologist Per Magnus Jørgensen. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

was collected from a south-facing slope in the Shaluli Mountains (

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

) at an altitude of .

Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

s, and

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

s were the dominant plant species in this location. ''Fuscopannaria saltuensis'' is a member of the '' F. praetermissa'' species complex. It differs from this species in its brown coloured thallus, its abundant small apothecia, and its smaller, roughly spherical spores.

Description

The lichen has a light brown

thallus Thallus (plural: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. Many of these organisms wer ...

comprising thick, incised, and overlapping squamules up to 3 mm in diameter; the thallus forms a pad or cushion up to in diameter. It produces abundant apothecia, which are up to 1 mm in diameter, with a convex shape and lacking a . Its

ascospore 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 ...

s are more or less spherical, colourless, and measure 12–14 by 8–9

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 ...

Habitat and distribution

''Fuscopannaria saltuensis'' thrives in the environment of open mountain forests that typically have pastures and cliffs. Its species epithet ''saltuensis'' refers to this particular habitat preference. The lichen has also been found to occasionally grow on the bases of trees and bushes. Furthermore, it can also be found in mountain pastures where it is able to survive and grow. It has been recorded in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, and

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21271015 saltuensis Lichen species Lichens described in 2000 Taxa named by Per Magnus Jørgensen Lichens of China Lichens of India