Toensbergia blastidiata

Toensbergia blastidiata is a species of crustose lichen in the family Sporastatiaceae. Found in northwestern North America, it was described as a new species in 2020 by the lichenologists Toby Spribille and Tor Tønsberg. The type specimen was collected in Glacier Bay National Park at the base of Marble Mountain (Alaska). Here the lichen was found growing on the bark of Alnus viridis subsp. crispa. The specific epithet blastidiata refers to the "blastidiate thallus surface"; blastidia are vegetative propagules containing both mycobiont and photobiont, which are produced by yeast-like "budding".[1]

Toensbergia blastidiata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Rhizocarpales
Family: Sporastatiaceae
Genus: Toensbergia
Species:
T. blastidiata
Binomial name
Toensbergia blastidiata

Toensbergia blastidiata is widespread in northwestern North America with a range extending from Kodiak Island south to the Olympic Mountains of Washington State. It is a corticolous lichen that has been recorded from the bark of Alnus viridis subsp. crispa, A. incana subsp. tenuifolia, A. rubra, Frangula purshiana, Malus fusca, and Pinus contorta.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Spribille, Toby; Fryday, Alan M.; Pérez-Ortega, Sergio; Svensson, Måns; Tønsberg, Tor; Ekman, Stefan; Holien, Håkon; Resl, Philipp; Schneider, Kevin; Stabentheiner, Edith; Thüs, Holger; Vondrák, Jan; Sharman, Lewis (2020). "Lichens and associated fungi from Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska". The Lichenologist. 52 (2): 61–181. doi:10.1017/S0024282920000079. hdl:10261/232567.