''Ocellularia neoleucina'' is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling)

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Graphidaceae The Graphidaceae are a family of lichens in the order Ostropales. Distribution and ecology The vast majority of Graphidaceae species are restricted to the tropics. Most Graphidaceae species are epiphytic (i.e. they grow only on plants). Gener ...

. Found in southeastern Thailand, it was formally described as a new species in 2002 by lichenologists Natsurang Homchantara and

Brian J. Coppins Brian John Coppins (born 1949) is a botanist and lichenologist, considered a world authority on crustose lichens and a leading expert on the genus ''Micarea''. Education Coppins' interest in lichens was sparked during a field trip to the Scott ...

. The type specimen was collected from Namtok Phlio National Park ( Chanthaburi Province); here, in a moist, lowland evergreen forest, it was found growing on '' Anisoptera costata''. The lichen has a shiny, smooth, greenish thallus with a dense cortex and a white medulla with many crystals. Its ascospores are

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 ...

, thin walled, colourless, and typically measure 14.0–17.0 by 5.0–6.7

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 contains

stictic acid Stictic acid is an aromatic organic compound, a product of secondary metabolism in some species of lichens. Stictic acid is the subject of preliminary biomedical research. Stictic acid has cytotoxic and apoptotic effects ''in vitro''. Computation ...

, a

secondary compound Secondary metabolites, also called specialised metabolites, toxins, secondary products, or natural products, are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved in the norma ...

References

neoleucina Lichen species Lichens described in 2002 Lichens of Thailand Taxa named by Brian John Coppins Taxa named by Natsurang Homchantara {{Ostropales-stub