Abstract A non-isidiate Leptogium species with transverse septate ascospores is described as new. The species was collected in Serra da Mantiqueira and initially identified as L. megapotamicum, but the study of the type specimen demonstrated differences in the tissues of the apothecia, which supported the observed morphological variations of the thalli and apothecia found by our descriptive protocol

Hora Br

Jungbluth P

Kitaura Mj

Marcelli Mp

CiteSeerX

Submitted 28 June 2013, Accepted 12 September 2013, Published online 8 October 2013  
Corresponding Author: Marcos J. Kitaura – e-mail – junjimjk@gmail.com 986 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A new non-isidiate Leptogium species with transverse septate 
ascospores from Southeastern Brazil 
 
Kitaura MJ
1
, Marcelli MP
2
, Hora BR
1
 and Jungbluth P
1 
 
1UNESP, Instituto de Biociências, Depto de Botânica, Distrito de Rubião Jr., Caixa Postal 510, Botucatu/SP, CEP 
18618–970, Brazil 
2Instituto de Botânica, Núcleo de Pesquisa em Micologia, Caixa Postal 68041, São Paulo/SP, CEP 04045–972, Brazil. 
 
Kitaura MJ, Marcelli MP, Hora BR, Jungbluth P 2013 – A new non-isidiate Leptogium species with 
transverse septate ascospores from Southeastern Brazil. Mycosphere 4(5), 986–992, Doi 
10.5943/mycosphere/4/5/11 
 
Abstract 
A non-isidiate Leptogium species with transverse septate ascospores is described as new. 
The species was collected in Serra da Mantiqueira and initially identified as L. megapotamicum, but 
the study of the type specimen demonstrated differences in the tissues of the apothecia, which 
supported the observed morphological variations of the thalli and apothecia found by our 
descriptive protocol. 
 
Key words – amphithecia – columnar hyphae – section Leptogiopsis – subhymenial tissue 
 
Introduction 
The gelatinous foliose and corticate lichenized fungi with transverse septate ascospores 
were initially grouped in the genus Leptogiopsis by Muller Argoviensis (1882) and subsequently as 
a section of Leptogium by Vainio (1890). This group now has a total of 11 accepted species, most 
of them mentioned only by the authors that originally described them. 
Leptogium chloromeloides Nyl. was described from Port Natal in South Africa (Nylander 
1868); L. thoroldii C.W. Dodge was reported to northern Nigeria and Cameroon (Dodge 1964) and 
L. ankolense C.W. Dodge from Uganda (Dodge 1971). 
In the Americas, Leptogium megapotamicum Malme was described from Brazil (Malme 
1924), L. reticulatum Nyl. from French Guiana (Montagne 1841), L. granadillae (C.W. Dodge) 
Degel. from Costa Rica (Dodge 1933), L. fusisporum (Tuck.) C.W. Dodge from the USA, and L. 
adpressum Nyl. from Mexico, Florida (Sierk 1964) and Africa (Vainio 1901). 
Leptogium pacificum Vain. is the only species known from the Philippines (Vainio 1920). 
The best known species is L. brebissonii Mont., originally collected in the Canaries Islands 
(Montagne 1840). It has also been cited for Brazil (Malme 1924), southeast Africa (Swinscow & 
Krog 1988), the Iberian Peninsula (Aragon et al. 2005) and New Zealand (Feuerer 2011). 
This study describes a new species of section Leptogiopsis sensu Vainio from southeastern 
Brazil and also provides a detailed description of the type of Leptogium megapotamicum, the 
nearest species and also from southern Brazil. 
This work formed part of a PhD thesis that described Leptogium types from different 
morphological groups (Kitaura 2012). 
 
Mycosphere 4 (5): 986–992 (2013) ISSN 2077 7019 
www.mycosphere.org Article Mycosphere 
Copyright © 2013  Online Edition 
 Doi 10.5943/mycosphere/4/5/11 
    987 
Materials & Methods 
The specimens were collected in the cities of Camanducaia, Campos do Jordão, Catas Altas, 
and Itamonte, all of them localized in the higher regions of the Mantiqueira's Range, a major 
mountain complex in southeastern Brazil. 
A detailed revision of the type of Leptogium megapotamicum (S) was important in order to 
differentiate the new species. 
All specimens were described by our protocol specially developed to analyze Leptogium 
species (Kitaura 2012, Kitaura & Marcelli 2012) and the tissues types were classified according 
Degelius (1954) and Kitaura & Marcelli (2013). 
Leptogium thalli are usually attached by hapters whose presence may produce typical 
depressions on the upper surface. However, in this group such depressions were not found in all 
specimens and consequently this characteristic was not included in the descriptions. 
 
Results and Discussion 
Most species of sect. Leptogiopsis are in need of further study. The presence of 
paraplectenchymatous cortical cells is not a good characteristic for differentiating Leptogium from 
Collema species (Otálora et al. 2010) and recently Collema species of the C. fasciculare group, also 
with transverse septate ascospores, were transferred to Arctomia Th. Fr. Otálora & Wedin (2013) 
concluded that both have similar characteristics including ascospores, paraphyses, ascus types and 
hymenial reactions. Thus sect. Leptogiopsis species could also be included in Arctomia. 
We have identified at least two Leptogium groups where the general morphology and some 
anatomical aspects correlate with the presence or absence of the columnar hyphae and with relief of 
thallus surface (Kitaura 2012). The species with surface weakly ridged to smooth have columnar 
hyphae and their apothecia have a thick amphithecial tissue, whereas that species with densely 
ridged surface lack columnar hyphae, but the apothecia have subhymenial paraplectenchymatous 
tissue and a one-celled layer of amphithecial tissue, as described below. 
The apothecial anatomy was critical in establishing the precise circumscription of the 
species, but it is not fundamental in identification. To the naked eye the type of L. megapotamicum 
has a smooth to ridged upper surface, as well as inclined columnar hyphae, smooth to verruculose 
amphithecia and a thick cortex among the amphithecial verrucules, whereas L. longisporum has a 
weakly ridged upper surface to the naked eye, lacks columnar hyphae, has densely ridged, grey 
amphithecia and thick subhymenial paraplectenchymatous tissue. 
 
Leptogium megapotamicum Malme, Arkiv för Botanik 19(8): 29. 1924. Figs 1–3 
Holotype – Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul State, Municipality of Porto Alegre, Parthenon, 
corticola in ora Silva, leg. GO Malme 574 (S!). 
Etymology – refers to Rio Grande do Sul State (Rio Grande = great river). 
Description – Thallus ca. 5 cm broad, bluish gray under fluorescent light (naked eye), 
opaque, matt, bluish gray under the stereomicroscope. Branches lobuloid, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, 
contiguous, adpressed to attached in points, adnate, upper surface smooth to ridged to the naked 
eye, longitudinal or scattered ridges apparent under 20× magnification; apices rotund to irregular, 
revolute to ascending, smooth to crenulate; lateral margin smooth to irregular, ascending, sinuous; 
lower side bluish gray, ridged to the naked eye and under 20× magnification. Isidia and lobules 
absent. Thallus attached by hapters; hapters evenly distributed, frequent; rhizines and hairs absent. 
Apothecia up to 4 mm diam., marginal to submarginal, subpedicellate, disc cupuliform; margin 
gray, smooth, without ornamentation; amphithecia gray when young then white or yellowish, 
smooth and verruculose, verrucules gray; corona discontinuous, slightly evident, on older 
apothecia; pedicel as ridged as thallus, very short, without ornamentation. 
Anatomy – Thallus 125 µm thick, 175 µm thick on the ridges; quadratic cells of cortices 5 
µm wide, columnar hyphae inclined, simple, cell number not determined. Cyanobacteria blue, 
frequent to sparse, filament of spherical cells of undetermined number, 5 µm diam.; matrix 
gelatinous frequent, yellow near to the cortices and hyaline in the mid section. Apothecia with
    988 
 
 
 
Figs 1–3 – Leptogium megapotamicum. 1 Holotype. 2 Detail of apothecium. 3 Transverse section 
of apothecia (arrow = thick paraplectenchymatous tissue among the verrucules).– Bars: 1 = 10 mm, 
2 = 2 mm, 3 = 50 µm. 
 
hymenia 100–115 µm high, subhymenia 75 µm thick, hyaline; hypothecia 20–25 µm thick, 
prosoplectenchymatous cells, hyaline; subhymenial paraplectenchymatous tissue absent; 
parahymenial tissue continuous with hypothecium, as high as hymenium, 10–15 µm (3–4 cells) 
thick at base; 35–40 µm (4–7 cells) thick at apex, prosoplectenchymatous to 
euthyplectenchymatous cells; amphithecia 5 µm (1 cell) at apex, 5–35 µm (1–5 cells) at middle, 5–
100 µm (1–8 cells) at base, paraplectenchymatous cells, variable thickness by the presence of 
verrucules. Ascospores 60–75 × 5 µm, 9–12 × 1 cells, apices acute, transversely septate. Pycnidia 
marginal, brown; conidia bifusiform to bacilliform, 3.75 × 1.25 µm. 
Known distribution – only from the type locality. 
Notes – Leptogium megapotamicum is characterized by the ridged upper surface (Fig. 1) 
and the white to yellowish amphithecia bearing gray verrucules (Fig. 2). The apothecia of L. 
megapotamicum have a prosoplectenchymatous hypothecium and the amphithecia with one to 
multiple paraplectenchymatous cell layers among the verrucules (Fig. 3). 
Malme (1924) described the amphithecia of L. megapotamicum as composed by one layer 
of cells. However, they are multilayered between the verrucules and this characteristic is important 
in distinguishing this species. 
    989 
Presently, Leptogium megapotamicum appears endemic to the southern-most Brazilian state 
(Rio Grande do Sul) and has not been found in southeastern Brazil. 
Leptogium brebissonii is a somewhat similar species that has isidia and densely grouped 
ridges (Kitaura 2012), but L. megapotamicum has the upper surface with longitudinal or scattered 
ridges without isidia. 
 
Leptogium longisporum Kitaura & Marcelli, sp. nov. Figs 4–6 
MycoBank 804586 
Holotype – Brazil, Minas Gerais State, Municipality of Itamonte, near to the road BR-485, 
on trunk, 22 Nov 2009, leg. M.J. Kitaura & M.P. Marcelli 1470 (SP). 
Etymology – This species has the longest transverse septate ascospores in the genus. 
Description – Thallus ca. 5 cm broad, gray under fluorescent light (naked eye), opaque, 
matt, gray under the stereomicroscope. Branches lacinioid, 0.7 mm wide, contiguous to slightly 
overlapping, attached in points, adnate to ascending, upper surface slightly ridged to the naked eye, 
densely ridged under 20× magnification; apices irregular, plane or ascending, ridged or with 
cerebroid structures; lateral margin usually plane or ascending, with ridged structures; lower side 
yellowish gray, wrinkled to the naked eye, irregularly ridged under 20× magnification. Isidia and 
lobules absent. Thallus attached by frequent, evenly distributed hapters; rhizines and hairs absent. 
Apothecia up to 4 mm diam., laminal, subpedicellate, disc usually plane; margin concolorous with 
the thallus; amphithecium gray, densely ridged (usually cerebroid contorted); corona absent; 
pedicel very short, densely ridged. 
Anatomy – Thallus 150 µm thick, 350 µm thick at the ridges; quadratic cortical cells 5 µm 
wide, the outer wall thicker than the inner wall; columnar hyphae absent. Cyanobacteria green or 
bluish, frequent, filaments formed from up to 20 elliptical cells, 5.0 × 2.5 µm; gelatinous matrix 
frequent to abundant, hyaline. Apothecia with hymenia 125–150 µm high, subhymenia 25–65 µm 
thick, hyaline to yellow; hypothecia 25–35 µm thick, yellow, prosoplectenchymatous; subhymenial 
paraplectenchymatous tissue 75–110 µm (6–11 cells) thick; parahymenial tissue continuous with 
subhymenial tissue, colloplectenchymatous, 60–100 µm (9–11 cells) thick at base, 40–50 µm (7–
10) cells thick at apex, up to 7/8 of hymenium height; amphithecia always 5 µm (1 cell) thick, the 
outer wall thicker; basal plectenchymatous tissue absent. Ascospores acicular, 55–90 × 5(–7) µm, 
6–11 cells, transverse septate. Pycnidia absent. 
Known distribution – Southeastern Brazil, mainly in Minas Gerais and São Paulo States. 
Paratypes – Brazil, Minas Gerais State, Municipality of Itamonte, near to the road BR-485, 
trunk, 22 Nov 2009, leg M.J. Kitaura & M.P. Marcelli 1503 (SP, topotype), 1522 (SP, topotype); 
idem, Municipality of Camanducaia, Vila de Monte Verde, 20 Nov 2008, leg. M.P. Kitaura & M.P. 
Marcelli 1092 (SP); idem, forest near to the parking area, Pedra Redonda trail, 22 Nov 2008, leg. 
M.J. Kitaura & M.P. Marcelli 1239 (SP); idem, Municipality of Lima Duarte, Parque Municipal do 
Ibitipoca, Serra do Ibitipoca, 1270 m alt., 19 Mar 1994, leg. M.P. Marcelli & C.H. Ribeiro 26776 
(SP); idem, Catas Altas Municipality, Parque Natural do Caraça, Santuário do Caraça, trail to the 
Cascatinha, 1100 m alt., 06 Jul 1993, leg. M.P. Marcelli & O. Yano 25932 (SP); idem, São Paulo 
State, Municipality of Campos do Jordão, Parque Estadual do Jordão, Horto Florestal, trail of 
Cachoeirinha, 1400 m. alt., 19 Jun 1995, leg. M.P. Marcelli, A.E Luchi & A.M. Gugliotta 29091 
(SP). 
Notes –Leptogium longisporum is characterized by the lacinioid branches whose upper 
surface has dense ridges bearing cerebroid structures at the apices. The apothecia have a thick 
subhymenial paraplectenchymatous tissue and the acicular ascospores, 55–90 × 5(–7) µm, are the 
longest among the species with transverse septa. 
Leptogium longisporum was collected in the Serra da Mantiqueira and initially identified as 
L. megapotamicum since the specimens agree well with the protologue (Malme 1924). However, a 
detailed morphological and anatomical study revealed several significant differences between these 
non-isidiate species. 
 
    990 
 
 
Figs 4–6 – Leptogium longisporum. 4 Holotype. 5 Detail of apothecium. 6 Transverse section of 
apothecium (star = subhymenial paraplectenchymatous tissue). – Bars: 4 = 2 cm; 5 = 2 mm; 6 = 50 
µm. 
 
Subhymenial tissue composed of paraplectenchymatous cells was observed in several 
Leptogium species by Malme (1924), who mentioned it as “strato parenchymatico sub hypothecio”, 
and its presence or absence has been considered an important taxonomic characteristic for 
distinguishing Leptogium species (Swinscow & Krog 1988). However, Malme described L. 
megapotamicum as lacking such tissue but with amphithecia composed by a simple layer of cells. 
The absence of a thick paraplectenchymatous tissue in the apothecia of Leptogium species is 
not common, and we initially believed that Malme may have been mistaken. However, sections of 
the apothecium of the type of L. megapotamicum were made and Malme’s observations confirmed. 
The apothecia of Leptogium longisporum differs anatomically from both L. megapotamicum 
and L. fusisporum. Leptogium longisporum has a thick subhymenial paraplectenchymatous tissue 
and a one-layered amphithecium whereas L. megapotamicum and L. fusisporum lack subhymenial 
paraplectechyma tissue, but have a paraplectenchymatous multilayered amphithecium instead. 
The cerebroid structures present on the apices of the thallus ridges are somewhat similar to 
those found in L. microcarpum, but that species does not have transverse septate spores (Kitaura 
2012). 
 
    991 
Key to Brazilian species of Leptogium species with transverse septate ascospores 
 
1. Isidia present .....................................................................................Leptogium brebissonii Mont. 
1. Isidia absent ................................................................................................................................ 2 
2. Upper surface smooth to ridged to the naked eye, the ridge apices not ornamented; the 
amphithecia verruculose with thick paraplectenchymatous tissue between the verrucules; 
subhymenial paraplectenchymatous tissue absent ……………. .. Leptogium megapotamicum Malme 
2. Upper surface slightly ridged to the naked eye; ridges ornamented with cerebroid structures; the 
amphithecia ridged and totally covered with a thin paraplectenchymatous tissue (one layer); a thick 
subhymenial paraplectenchymatous tissue present……..Leptogium longisporum Kitaura & Marcelli 
 
Acknowledgements 
The authors wish to thank Dr. Jack Elix for the revision of the English text, Dr. Arne 
Anderberg and Dr. Marianne Hamnede (S) for the loan of the type of Leptogium megapotamicum, 
and an unknown assessor for valuable suggestions. M.J. Kitaura wishes to thank the FAPESP 
(2008/51072-3) for a PhD grant and M.P. Marcelli, CNPq for a research grant. 
 
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A new non-isidiate Leptogium species with transverse septate ascospores from Southeastern Brazil

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A new non-isidiate Leptogium species with transverse septate ascospores from Southeastern Brazil

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