''Syncesia afromontana'' is a rare species of

byssoid lichen Lichens are composite organisms made up of multiple species: a fungal partner, one or more photosynthetic partners, and sometimes a basidiomycete yeast. They are regularly grouped by their external appearance – a characteristic known as their g ...

in the family Roccellaceae. Found in

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

, it was formally described as a new species in 2010 by Damien Ertz, Dorothee Killmann,

Emmanuël Sérusiaux Emmanuël Sérusiaux (born 3 October 1953) is a Belgian lichenologist. His career, spanning more than four decades, has combined both lichenology research and political aspects of nature conservation. He spent several periods working as a res ...

, and Eberhard Fischer. The type specimen was collected in the Rwasenkoko swamp area of Nyungwe National Park ( Southern Province) at an altitude of . It is only known to occur at the type locality, where it grows on the trunks of '' Erica'' in thickets of '' Erica johnstonii'' as well as in forests of '' Hagenia abyssinica'' and '' Rapanea melanophloeios''. The lichen has a

byssoid Lichens are composite organisms made up of multiple species: a fungal partner, one or more photosynthetic partners, and sometimes a basidiomycete yeast. They are regularly grouped by their external appearance – a characteristic known as their g ...

(wispy, like teased wool), water-repellent thallus that is greyish to greyish-green and up to in diameter. It contains protocetraric acid as a major

metabolite In biochemistry, a metabolite is an intermediate or end product of metabolism. The term is usually used for small molecules. Metabolites have various functions, including fuel, structure, signaling, stimulatory and inhibitory effects on enzymes, c ...

, and trace amounts of roccellic acid.

References

Roccellaceae Lichen species Lichens described in 2010 Lichens of Rwanda Taxa named by Emmanuël Sérusiaux {{Arthoniomycetes-stub