''Leptogium patwardhanii'' is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) and

foliose lichen Foliose lichen is one of the morphological classes of lichens, which are complex organisms that arise from the symbiotic relationship between fungi and a photosynthetic partner, typically algae. This partnership allows lichen to live in diverse ...

in the family

Collemataceae The Collemataceae are a lichenized family of fungi in the order Peltigerales. The family contains ten genera and about 325 species. The family has a widespread distribution. Taxonomy The family was circumscribed by Jonathan Carl Zenker in 1827; ...

. Found in India, it was formally described as a new species in 2010 by Archana Dube and Urmila Vasudev Makhija. 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 in an evergreen forest in Amboli (

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

) at an elevation of . It is only known to occur at the type locality. Characteristics of ''Leptogium patwardhanii'' include the presence of

isidia An isidium is a vegetative reproductive structure present in some lichens. Isidia are outgrowths of the thallus surface, and are corticated (i.e., containing the outermost layer of the thallus), usually with a columnar structure, and consisting o ...

and the multilayered cortex of the thalline exciple. 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 muriform (divided into internal chambers by a single vertical

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 3 to 5 transverse septa),

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 ...

, and measure 20–40 by 11–13

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 ...

. It is classified in the section ''Euleptogium'' of the genus ''

Leptogium ''Leptogium'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Collemataceae. It has about 110 species. Species *'' Leptogium acadiense'' *'' Leptogium adnatum'' – South America *''Leptogium andegavense'' *'' Leptogium antarcticum'' *''L ...

''. '' Leptogium austroamericanum'' and '' L. cyanescens'' are similar in overall

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

, but can be distinguished from ''L. patwardhanii'' by differences in the structure of their proper exciples (the rim of tissue around the apothecia).

References

patwardhanii Lichen species Lichens described in 2010 Lichens of India {{Peltigerales-stub