''Lecania leprosa'' is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It occurs in Eastern Europe.

Taxonomy

The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2008 by Rikke Reese Næsborg and Jan Vondrák. The type specimen was collected from Devín (

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

, Slovakia), where it was found growing on the mortar of a northwest-exposed wall. The species epithet ''leprosa'' means "scurfy" or "scaley", and refers to the form of the lichen thallus.

Description

''Lecania leprosa'' has an irregularly areolate, relatively thick crust-like thallus with a colour ranging from pale grey, grey, lead-grey, blue-grey, brown-grey, to dark grey (sometimes with a greenish tint). The species is usually encountered in the sterile form (i.e., without any apothecia), but in the few instances that apothecia have been recorded, they are typically 0.31–0.47 mm in diameter with a brown to dark brown disc and a margin that is the same colour as the thallus. Ascospores 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 ...

and

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 ...

with a single

septum In biology, a septum (Latin for ''something that encloses''; plural septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Human anatomy * Interatri ...

, and dimensions of 9.9–11.3

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 ...

long by 3.5–4.0 μm wide. The lichen thallus contains an acetone-insoluble pigment called ''Hertelii''-green.

Habitat and distribution

''Lecania leprosa'' has been recorded from Austria, Czech Republic, Romania, and Slovakia, where it grows on concrete, mortar, and limestone.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10555488 Ramalinaceae Lichen species Lichens described in 2008 Lichens of Middle Europe Lichens of Southeastern Europe