Biology:Kalbographa
Kalbographa is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae.[1][2] These lichens form thin, grey-white to pale yellow-olive crusts on tree bark and are distinguished by their striking bright orange to brick-red fruiting bodies that create sharp black slits against the surface. The genus has a pantropical distribution, growing on shaded tree trunks and large branches of mature trees in humid forests, where their brightly pigmented [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] are believed to provide protection from sunlight and their presence serves as an indicator of intact, closed-canopy forest.
Taxonomy
The genus was circumscribed in 2007 by the lichenologist Robert Lücking with Kalbographa caracasana assigned as the type species. The genus name honours the German lichenologist Klaus Kalb.[3]
Description
Kalbographa forms a thin, grey-white to pale yellow-olive crust (thallus) that embeds directly in the bark and lacks a protective [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]. Its fruit bodies are short to elongate [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] whose walls are wholly [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]], creating sharp black slits that stand out against the thallus. A striking feature is the bright orange- to brick-red [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] produced by anthraquinone pigments; a fine granular [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] may accentuate the colour. Beneath the pigmented roof lies a clear, non-[[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] hymenium lined with simple [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] and smooth paraphyses. The thin-walled Graphis-type asci usually contain eight hyaline ascospores that become markedly [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]—divided by many transverse and a few longitudinal septa—yet remain iodine-negative (I–). Secondary chemistry is dominated by anthraquinones such as fragilin and parietin, sometimes combined with trace stictic acid-series depsidones that lend a brownish tint to the [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]].[4]
The co-occurrence of fully carbonised lirellae, a vividly coloured epithecium and large I– muriform spores distinguishes Kalbographa from superficially similar script lichens. In Glyphis the epithecium is dull brown or absent and the pigments are depsidones rather than anthraquinones; Carbacanthographis shares the black margins but lacks bright pigments and has much smaller spores; whereas Acanthothecis and Hemithecium possess spinulose periphysoids and, in many cases, iodine-reactive elements in the hymenium. Within Kalbographa itself, species differ mainly in disc colour nuances, pruina density and spore dimensions, yet all retain the conspicuous orange epithecium.[4]
Ecology
The genus is pantropical, recorded from humid lowland Amazonia, central African rainforests, Southeast Asian dipterocarp stands and wet sclerophyll forests in Queensland. All species are strictly corticolous, occupying shaded trunk and large branches of mature trees where prolonged surface moisture favours both vegetative spread and pigment production. Brightly pigmented discs are believed to confer photoprotection in intermittent sunflecks, allowing the lichens to persist on exposed trunk faces that many Graphidaceae avoid.[4]
Field observations indicate that Kalbographa is sparse or absent where heavy logging, agricultural edge effects or canopy opening reduce humidity; several species therefore serve as practical indicators of intact, closed-canopy forest. Conversely, the widespread K. cinnabarina can colonise secondary woodland once a closed canopy re-establishes, making the genus a useful gauge of mid-successional recovery in tropical reforestation projects.[4]
Species
- Kalbographa cabbalistica (Nyl.) Lücking (2021)[5]
- Kalbographa caracasana (Müll.Arg.) Lücking (2007)[3]
- Kalbographa hypoglaucoides (Kr.P.Singh & D.D.Awasthi) Kr.P.Singh & Pushpi Singh (2017)[6]
- Kalbographa lobata Lücking (2007)[3]
- Kalbographa lueckingii Kalb (2009)[7]
- Kalbographa miniata Lücking (2007)[3]
References
- ↑ Wijayawardene, Nalin; Hyde, Kevin; Al-Ani, Laith Khalil Tawfeeq; Somayeh, Dolatabadi; Stadler, Marc; Haelewaters, Danny et al. (2020). "Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa". Mycosphere 11: 1060–1456. doi:10.5943/mycosphere/11/1/8.
- ↑ "Kalbographa". Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/577V.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lücking, R. (2007). "Kalbographa: Monografie einer unerkannten Flechtengattung" (in de). Bibliotheca Lichenologica 96: 185–192.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Lücking, Robert; Rivas Plata, Eimy (2008). "Clave y guía ilustrada para géneros de Graphidaceae" (in es). GLALIA 1 (1): 1–39. https://archive.org/details/2008_Glalia_1_1.
- ↑ Lücking, R.; Moncada, B.; Soto-Medina, E.; Simijaca, D.; Sipman, H.J.M. (2021). "Actualización nomenclatural y taxonómica del Catálogo de Líquenes de Colombia" (in es). Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales 45 (174): 147–189 [152].
- ↑ Singh, Pushpi; Singh, Krishna Pal (2017). "New combinations in the family Graphidaceae (lichenized Ascomycota: Ostropales) from India". The Lichenologist 49 (5): 527–533. doi:10.1017/S0024282917000330. Bibcode: 2017ThLic..49..527S.
- ↑ Kalb, K.; Buaruang, K.; Papong, K.; Boonpragob, K. (2009). "New or otherwise interesting lichens from the tropics, including the lichen genus Ramboldia in Thailand". Mycotaxon 110: 109–123. doi:10.5248/110.109.
Wikidata ☰ Q107289253 entry
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